Assisted dying is a well polled issue in 2016; 6 polls have been released in 2016 in addition to the report from the External Panel on Options for a Legislative Response to Carter v. Canada, which included public consultation results. In fact, since 2011 there have been 17 public opinion releases on the topic of assisted dying and […]
Not too long ago, I wrote about the dramatic change in public opinion about same-sex marriage and our natural tendency is to think of these types of changes as being a reflection, to some degree, of generational replacement. Younger people have different attitudes than the previous generations and over time they become a larger proportion of […]
The impression one gets from a casual following of economic news is that Canada is doing well but not outstanding. There are concerns about Europe and the U.S. but these seem divorced from the day-to-day lives of most Canadians. Nevertheless, consumer confidence has dropped quite precipitously over the past three months. According to TNS Canada, […]
Public opinion change is not unheard of but when it comes to fundamental beliefs and values, we expect change to take place slowly, if at all. The evolution of Canadian beliefs about same-sex marriage provide an interesting example of dramatic changes that both presupposed and reacted to court decisions. Courts played a key role in […]
Senators have been having a tough time the last few weeks and the institution is looking a lot less like an institution of sober second thought and more like a frat house. But, even if Harper is now regretting his choices and even though he may want senate reform, the recent events do nothing to […]
The most recent shootings in a Colorado movie theatre by a man armed with an automatic weapon has hardly caused a ripple in terms of public demands for gun control. In one way, this is strikingly surprising because we expect dramatic events such of this to focus public opinion on the negative consequences of gun […]
A couple of years into the decade and it seems possible that the decade will be defined in terms of its impact on the size and nature of public services/ benefits? Backlash against austerity are already occurring in Greece and there is considerable uncertainty about the willingness of politicians and publics to accept a “right-sizing” […]
Question: do we celebrate the referendum results in BC as a victory for democracy? As the ultimate in public consultation the referendum was a decisive public expression. Or was it? And, how decisive and meaningful are these votes. Stepping back. The referendum was the result of an organized campaign that resulted from the surprise announcement after the […]
A review of publicly available data indicates that Canadians have been quite resilient in their support for nuclear and the most recent issues are unlikely to seriously dampen long-term support. We speculate that despite the potential for public opposition, an elite consensus around nuclear power may be reducing the mobilization of the underlying “safety” induced […]
Projecting on a straight-line basis suggests that by 2015 more than half of American households won’t have a traditional landline phone in their house. This is a staggering possibility but not far-fetched. In fact the landline could be even less relevant if the trend accelerates. Imagine new buildings and subdivisions that don’t even install this […]