Atlantic Canadian voting more concerned with local candidates: survey

HALIFAX — According to a recent survey, Atlantic Canadians buck a widespread trend among other Canadians of disregard for local candidates during federal elections.

Atlantic Canadians were found less likely to vote for the same party every election and more likely to make a decision based on their local candidates than people in any other region.

The findings, reported in a release from Narrative Research, found voting is generally based on party loyalty or party stance on issues for most participants – and that fewer than one in 10 Canadians vote based on their local candidate.

The results also found that half of Canadians don’t know the names of the candidates in their ridings.

The release said three in 10 Canadians, “typically for the same party every election and another three in 10 votes based on the policy or issue positions of the parties.”

Meanwhile, the study found six per cent of Canadians “generally don’t vote in federal elections,” and a third of participants vote for the same party every election.

Broken down by generation, 58 per cent of millennials and 58 per cent of higher-income earners know their local candidates’ names.

The study found three in 10 Canadians vote based on policy concerns, and 20 per cent vote based on the party leader.

The survey was conducted online from Aug. 24 to 26 with 1,233 participating Canadians, 18 years old or older, using information from Logit Group’s Canadian Omnibus survey.