Public Perceptions of
the Ethics of Canada’s
Political Leaders
October 15, 2015
Introduction
The objectives of this study were to understand:
•
Canadians’ level of trust in their federal party leaders;
•
Whether Canadians think that political processes inevitably lead to
corruption and unethical behaviour;
•
Which unethical behaviours Canadians believe to be most relevant to
whether a politician is fit for office;
•
Whether perceptions of unethical behaviour on the part of political
leaders has affected Canadians’ voting habits;
•
How Canadians think unethical behaviour should be ‘policed.’
1
Methodology
•
This survey was a stand-alone module within a larger survey conducted by the Local Parliament Project
(LPP).
•
The survey was aimed at the Canadian general population, stratified on province and balanced on gender
and age. We aimed for 50% men and 50% women. We aimed to have 28% of our respondents aged
18-34, 27% aged 35-49 and 46% aged 50 and higher. Our provincial targets follow the relative
demographic weights of the provinces.
•
Sampling for this module occurred between September 14th and October 6, 2015.
•
The final sample for this module contains 1513 respondents. Quantities are representative of Englishspeaking Canadian citizens over the age of 18, with a credibility interval of 2.52 percentage points, 19
times out of 20.
•
The questions in thus survey module replicate many of the questions asked in our previous survey,
"Public Perceptions of the Ethics of Political Leadership," Nov. 5, 2014.
•
Thanks and Acknowledgements:
The survey sampling, programming, and weighting were performed by Daniel Rubenson, Ryerson
University and Peter Loewen, University of Toronto. Rubenson and Loewen are co-Investigators on the
LPP. Benjamin Allen Stevens provided research assistance with data cleaning and analysis.
2
Satisfaction: Specific Political Leaders
Howsa'sfiedareyouwiththeethicalbehaviourofthefollowingindividuals?
LeaderoftheFederalGreenParty,ElizabethMay
17%
LeaderoftheFederalNDP,TomMulcair
16%
26%
27%
33%
30%
28%
23%
(1-3)NotSaCsfied
LeaderoftheFederalLiberalParty,JusCnTrudeau
16%
29%
36%
(4-6)ModeratelySaCsfied
19%
(7-9)SaCsfied
Don'tKnow
PrimeMinisterandleaderoftheFederalConservaCveParty,StephenHarper
38%
YourlocalMemberofParliament
13%
0%
10%
24%
26%
20%
30%
22%
30%
40%
50%
60%
15%
31%
70%
80%
90%
100%
3
Statements About Ethics
Doyouagreeordisagreewiththefollowingstatements?
10%
Poli9csbyitsverynatureisadirtygame,sounethicalbehaviourisinevitable.
Thepressuretomakebigpromisesduringacampaigncontributestounethicalbehaviour. 4%
24%
12%
7%
16%
43%
32%
Onlyunethicalpeoplegointopoli9cs.
Poli9cshasatendencytocorruptotherwisehonestpeople.
38%
29%
37%
18%
11%
12%
15%
44%
5%
19%
11%
Completelydisagree
12%
SomewhatDisagree
SomewhatAgree
Apoli9cianwhoisdishonestinhisorherpersonallifecannotbetrustedintheirprofessional
3% 8%
role.
30%
48%
10%
CompletelyAgree
Don'tKnow
Mostpoli9cianstrytheirbesttodowhatisinthepublicinterest.
8%
24%
14%
Most"poli9calscandals"aremadeupbyopposingpar9estryingtoscorepoli9calpoints.
Themediamakespoli9ciansseemmorecorruptthantheyare.
10%
0%
46%
29%
33%
27%
10%
20%
11%
11%
37%
30%
40%
50%
14%
60%
70%
80%
10%
12%
12%
90%
100%
4
Ethics and Personal Behaviour
Howrelevantarethefollowingtowhetherornotapoli1cianshouldbeconsideredfitforoffice?
GeKngchargedwithacriminaloffencewhileinoffice 3%
11%
78%
7%
Apastfraudconvic7on 3%
11%
78%
7%
Apastconvic7onfordomes7cabuse
6%
Apastconvic7onfordrunkdriving
15%
72%
15%
8%
30%
48%
(1-3)NotRelevant
8%
(4-6)ModeratelyRelevant
Addic7onissues
9%
23%
60%
(7-9)Relevant
8%
Don'tKnow
Owingoutstandingtaxes
7%
Failingtopaychildsupport
8%
19%
67%
20%
Maritalinfideli7es
64%
29%
0%
10%
8%
8%
31%
20%
30%
40%
31%
50%
60%
70%
9%
80%
90%
100%
5
Voting Behaviour
Howmuchdoyouagreeordisagreewiththefollowingstatements?
WhenIbelieveapoli?cianorpoli?calpartyhasactedunethically,Iwillvote
foranotherpartyeveniftheydon’tbestrepresentmyvalues.
10%
22%
36%
15%
17%
StronglyDisagree
SomewhatDisagree
Poli?calcorrup?oninCanadahasledmetostopvo?ng.
52%
19%
14%
4% 10%
SomewhatAgree
StronglyAgree
Don'tKnow
Ialwaysvoteforthesameparty.
27%
0%
10%
32%
20%
30%
40%
23%
50%
60%
70%
8%
80%
11%
90% 100%
6
‘Policing’ Ethical Behaviour
Howmuchresponsibilityshouldeachofthefollowingactorshavewhenit
comestomonitoringandenforcingpoli8calethicsinCanada?
Ac9vistgroups
27%
14%
Whistleblowers
Themedia
Votersatelec9on9me
36%
21%
34%
17%
37%
34%
5%
15%
16%
36%
19%
13%
62%
(1-3)NotResponsible
13%
(4-6)ModeratelyResponsible
Thepolice
11%
31%
45%
(7-9)Responsible
13%
Don'tKnow
AuditorsGeneral
5%
Anindependentethicscommissioner
5%
Theleadersofpoli9calpar9es
6%
0%
20%
17%
59%
16%
63%
15%
18%
10%
64%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
13%
70%
80%
90%
100%
7
Key Findings
•
Just 1/3 of Canadians say that they are “satisfied” with the ethical
behaviour of the leaders of our federal political parties.
•
Canadians reject the idea that only unethical people go into politics;
instead, they lay blame on pressure to make campaign promises, and
believe that politics has a tendency to corrupt otherwise honest people.
•
Most Canadians believe that a person who is dishonest in his or her
personal life cannot be trusted in their professional role.
•
Perceptions of ethics matter to how Canadians vote: in the face of
perceived corruption, some Canadians vote for a different party, while
others claim to avoid voting altogether.
•
Canadians believe that responsibility for ‘policing’ ethical behaviour in
politics rests with party leaders and with voters at election time.
x
Thank you
For more information contact:
Prof. Chris MacDonald,
Director, Ted Rogers Leadership Centre
Ryerson University
[email protected]
416-979-5000 x6903