Almost half of Canadian voters say they want to hear more before they make up their minds in this election. But the challenge for parties is that no single factor dominates when voters are asked what they want to hear from the campaigns. These are the findings of additional analysis conducted on an online survey of 2,400 Canadians first released on September 1st, 2021 and conducted by INNOVATIVE from August 26th to August 30th, 2021. Full methodology in the appendix.
To those who’ve already made up their minds, “specific policies” and “getting rid of Trudeau” were the key factors they reported influencing their decision-making.
The key factor for voters seeking more information is policy. One-in-eight (13%) want to hear more about the parties’ overall plans and platforms while over four-in-ten (44%) name specific policies.
No single policy was raised by more than 6% of our respondents. COVID-19 and environment/climate change top the list with cost-of-living and economy close behind at 5%.
“Leader performance” comments were mentioned by 8% of information-seeking voters. Comments related to party and leader empathy (who is on my side) were mentioned by 5%. Two percent (2%) were just looking for the best way to get rid of Justin Trudeau.
With policy interests so fragmented, campaigners face a daunting communications challenge in the back half of the campaign.
