This is The Week in Polling, your Saturday dose of interesting numbers from top pollsters in Canada and around the world, curated by The Hub. Here’s what we’re looking at this week.
A majority of Canadians think the Chinese, Russian and U.S. governments have interfered in Canada’s elections
Source: Research Co.
The security of Canada’s electoral processes from foreign interference, particularly regarding the nomination campaigns of Liberal MP Han Dong and former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu, has become a hot-button issue in Canada’s public discourse.
The preliminary report of the Public Inquiry into Foreign Interference in Federal Electoral Processes and Democratic Institutions, led by Justice Marie-Josée Hogue, uncovered that foreign interference did, in fact, occur in Canada and, in at least one case, “affected who was elected to Parliament.”
Polling now suggests the majority of Canadians agree with the findings of the preliminary report, believing that it is likely that China, Russia, and even the United States of America have interfered in Canadian electoral processes in this century.
Furthermore, nearly two-thirds of Canadians think there has been “definite” or “probable” foreign interference in federal elections. More than 50 percent say the same about federal nomination races.
This week marked the beginning of the second round of the public inquiry, which looks at whether Ottawa will be able to protect elections from foreign interference in the future.
