Poll suggests most Canadians trust election results, want interference inquiry

‘‘ Those who tend to distrust our electoral system, and so on, it tends to fall on partisan lines. CHRISTIAN BOURQUE LEGER MARKETING RESEARCH

New polling suggests the majority of Canadians want the federal government to call an independent inquiry into foreign interference in the last two federal elections, but still feel the country’s electoral system is safe.

Market research firm Leger surveyed 1,544 people between March 10 and 12, asking a range of questions about Canada’s electoral system and allegations of foreign interference.

The results suggest 71 per cent of Canadians feel the electoral system is safe, while 29 per cent feel it is not.

And the majority, 69 per cent of respondents, said they generally trust the results of elections in Canada.

One in five said they do not trust the results, and another 11 per cent said they don’t know.

The poll cannot be assigned a margin of error because online surveys are not considered truly random samples.

Allegations that China meddled in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections have dominated debate on Parliament Hill for weeks, following a series of media reports published by the Globe and Mail newspaper and Global News.

The reports, based on leaks from security sources, detailed allegations that China attempted to interfere to support candidates considered friendly to Beijing, and to ensure the Liberals won a minority in 2021.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that he will soon appoint an “eminent Canadian” with a wide mandate to probe the allegations and make recommendations about what action the government should take next.

Opposition parties are demanding a public inquiry into what happened.

The poll suggests there is a strong partisan divide in opinions about elections overall.

“Those who tend to distrust our electoral system, and so on, it tends to fall on partisan lines,” said Christian Bourque, executive vice-president of Leger. “It is those who tend to be right-leaning voters who tend to show a greater distrust for traditional institutions in our democracy, like elections.”