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Executive Summary
Conducted in February and March 2006, the Looking West 2006 Survey included a wide range of questions on public policy priorities, political identity, and democratic participation and attitudes. The objective of the survey is to help western Canadians and their governments better understand the opinions and attitudes of western Canadians. Democracy in Western Canada presents an analysis of the democratic participation and attitudes data. The public policy data can be found in Consistent Priorities, released by the Canada West Foundation in May 2006. The political identities data will be presented in a future Looking West 2006 Survey report.
Key democratic participation and attitudes findings of the Looking West 2006 Survey include:
Voting
Many of society's more marginalized people—those living in lower income households, those with lower education levels, Aboriginal people, immigrants, and visible minorities—are less likely to vote. This is by no means a new or unique finding, but it is troubling for Canadian democracy.
Only 15% of respondents did not vote because they were ineligible. Most respondents mention political or personal reasons for not voting.
Political Activities
Survey respondents were asked about their political activities (other than voting) in the 12 months prior to the survey. Two-thirds of western Canadians engaged in at least 1 of 7 political activities examined in the survey. Signing a petition is the most frequently reported activity, with nearly 4 in 10 western Canadians reporting this behaviour.
It is sometimes suggested that people who do not vote may be participating in other ways. However, the Looking West 2006 data suggest otherwise. In general, people who are more likely to report voting are also more likely to report engaging in other democratic activities.
Media
Over 7 in 10 western Canadians report getting current events and news from television, while about 6 in 10 report getting information about current events from newspapers. Almost 3 in 10 report getting current event information from the radio, but only a quarter use the Internet to learn about current events.
Democratic Attitudes
Many western Canadians are less than enthralled with the practice of Canadian politics. Many feel that politicians are untrustworthy, political parties are out of touch with their interests, elections fail to address their key concerns, the scope of government has grown too large, and the power of large corporations is too great. Despite these sentiments, however, western Canadians report a relatively high level of interest in politics and a sense of duty toward both voting and volunteerism.
Author(s): Dr. Loleen Berdahl
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