Opinion Research Scan E-newsletter – March 2013

Angus Reid: Why people move to Canada

Background: This study was conducted by Angus Reid Public Opinion for HSBC Bank as an online survey from August 16th to 21st, 2012. The respondents were 607 adults who had moved to Canada within the past 10 years. The margin of error is 4.0% 19 times out of 20.

The objectives of this survey were to identify why respondents had moved to Canada, as well as the most positive, and most challenging, aspects of their move.

Key Findings:

• Lifestyle (mentioned by 42%), family (also mentioned by 42%), and professional reasons (27%) were mostly commonly named as factors in respondents’ choices to move to Canada.
• Upon arrival, the biggest challenge for the majority of respondents was unemployment (mentioned by 62%). Personal challenges such as missing family (mentioned by 42%) and making friends (34%) were also commonly mentioned, as was the weather (29%).
• A strong majority of respondents (37%) found their province to be very welcoming upon their arrival, a further 45% found their province to be moderately welcoming.
  • Most welcoming within the province tended to be banks/financial institutions (86% found them to be very/moderately welcoming) followed by society in general (81% very/moderately welcoming). Employers were found to be the least welcoming (48% very/moderately welcoming).
• Approximately half (48%) of respondents indicated that they would definitely recommend immigrating to Canada to their friends and family; a further 36% say they would probably recommend it.

Association for Canadian Studies: Two-thirds of Canadians agree Canada is bilingual country

Background: This survey was conducted by Léger for the Association for Canadian Studies in November 2012 to explore questions concerning Canadians’ perceptions of Canada as a bilingual country. A total of 2,207 web panel participants responded to the online survey; the margin of error for an equivalent telephone survey is 2.9 percent 19 times out of 20.

Key Findings:

• Nearly two thirds of Canadians (65%) agree that Canada is a bilingual country. Those whose first language is neither English nor French (72%) and those with English as a first language (68%) are more likely to agree with this statement than are those with French as a first language (49%).
• When asked if the Government of Canada’s official languages policy contributes to a stronger national unity, those with neither English nor French as a first language are more likely to agree (56%) than  those with French (49%) or English (42%) as a first language.
• Although two-thirds (64%) of Canadians agree that the Government of Canada should provide services in English and French across the country, strong differences in opinion exist by mother tongue and by region: Francophone Canadians and those residing in Quebec are most likely to agree with this statement (90% and 88% respectively), while only 54% of Anglophone Canadians agreed. Those in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are least favourable towards these services being offered, with only 44% agreement.
• A strong majority (82%) of Canadians report that more than ever, they hear languages other than English and French being spoken in the country. Anglophone Canadians (83%) and those whose mother tongue is neither English nor French (84%) are slightly more likely to report this than Francophone Canadians (76%). Regionally, the most likely to agree are those in Alberta (89%) while the least likely are residents of the Maritimes (70%).

Ipsos-Reid: Canada not top of mind destination for foreign study

Background: This qualitative research (focus groups and interviews) was conducted in March and April 2012 by Ipsos-Reid for the Department of Foreign and International Affairs (DFAIT). Focus groups were conducted in Brazil and China, and one-on-one interviews were conducted in India. Participants in this research included prospective students, parents, and educational advisors to university students. It should be noted that the results of this qualitative research are the opinions of the participants, and cannot be generalized to any larger populations.

The goal of this research was to evaluate and gather insights for the future development of Imagine Education au/in Canada, a brand developed by DFAIT as a strategy to enhance Canada’s profile abroad, with the intention of attracting more international students to Canadian universities and colleges.

Key Findings:

• Canada is not a top of mind destination for foreign study for participants of any of the three countries (with the exception of Brazilian students looking for language study).
• There is no awareness of any world-class educational institutions in Canada, and very little awareness of any Canadian educational institutions at all. There is an assumption that as a developed country, Canada must have a decent education system, but to respondents, there was nothing that made Canada stand out above other countries where education is concerned.
• The United Kingdom and the United States were the top choices as preferred destinations for international studies.
• As a brand, Imagine Education au/in Canada was not evaluated very positively: participants felt that the brand was confusing, and was not sufficiently linked to education and/or Canada. Likewise, when asked to evaluate some creative concepts, participants felt that they were not specific to Canada and could be applied to any country.
• Following this research, recommendations to improve the Imagine Education au/in Canada brand included:
  • Emphasize excellence of studies in Canada;
  • Provide information about the types of courses offered; and
  • Provide specific information about Canada as a country, such as high quality of living, work, leisure and cultural opportunities, good value for money, Canada’s liberal immigration policy.

Environics: What constitutes the common good for Canada?

Background: This study was conducted for the Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation and the University of Alberta by the Environics Institute as a telephone survey between October 2 and 14, 2012. This national survey was conducted with 2,001 adult (18 years and older) Canadians, and the sample was stratified by province and community size. The margin of error is 2.1% 19 times out of 20. The objective of this survey was to define the concept of the common good, namely, the values and priorities that Canadians believe best describe what is best for this country, along with the degree to which they feel there is national consensus on those values and priorities.

Key Findings:

• While Canadians are more likely to agree than to disagree that despite Canada’s size and diversity, most Canadians share a common set of values and priorities about what is best for the country, this sentiment is not particularly definitive: only 18% strongly agree with the above statement while 61% somewhat agree.
• When asked, unprompted (no response options offered), to name the best values and priorities for Canada, participants provided a vast array of responses.
  • The most frequently mentioned values or priorities were economic development (prosperity/wealth) and public health care, each of which were mentioned by one in four Canadians (25%).
  • Other mentions included multiculturalism/tolerance of others (11%), education (9%), democracy/freedom (8%), protecting the environment (6%), a social safety net (6%), good government/lack of corruption (5%) and being a peaceful country (5%).
• Participants were then presented with 12 statements and asked to indicate the degree to which they agree or disagree that each statement describes the kind of Canada they personally believe Canada should be. Participants were also asked to indicate the extent to which they believe other Canadians share their personal opinion about the importance of each value and priority for the country.
  • Of the 12 statements provided, four of them received majority consensus. These were: Canada should be a country…:
    • In which men and women are treated equally in all walks of life (99% agree: 92% strongly agree and 7% somewhat agree);
    • With a political system that encourages average Canadians to let politicians know what they think (96% agree: 76% strongly, 20% somewhat);
    • With a public health system that covers everyone, that is fully supported through taxes (92% agree: 66% strongly, 26% somewhat); and
    • Where the practices of all religions are respected, provided they fall within the law (90% agree: 67% strongly, 23% somewhat).
  • Another set of four statements received widespread support. These were: Canada should be a country…:
    • With a social safety net that helps everyone facing difficult economic circumstances (92% agree: 51% strongly agree, 41% somewhat agree);
    • With strict laws on crime that place the highest priority on keeping criminals off the streets (90% agree: 59% strongly, 31% somewhat);
    • Where the environment is protected, even if this slows down economic development (88% agree: 49% strongly, 39% somewhat); and
    • Where are all citizens either speak, or at least respect, both English and French languages (85% agree: 51% strongly, 34% somewhat).
  • The final set of four statements received more moderate levels of agreement. These were: Canada should be a country…:
    • That fully welcomes immigrants from all over the world (71% agree: 29% strongly agree, 42% somewhat agree);
    • With a strong military (66% agree: 27% strongly, 39% somewhat);
    • Where there is not a big difference in income between the wealthy and everyone else (63% agree: 27% strongly, 36% somewhat); and
    • Where taxes are kept as low as possible, even if this may limit the services governments can provide (53% agree: 20% strongly, 33% somewhat).
• A strong majority of Canadians believe that others share their opinion on the importance of three of the Tier 1 value statements (political system that encourages expression, gender equality and publicly funded health care system) and one of the Tier 2 statements (strict laws on crime). For the remaining eight statements, fewer than half believe that others share their view.