A majority of Canadians believe the long form census yields important data and should remain mandatory.
Many Canadians disagree with their government’s move to scrap the mandatory long form census, and are calling on the federal government to reverse its recent decision, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In previous years, the census included a short form mailed to 80 per cent of Canadian households, and a longer, more detailed form mailed to the remaining households. Last month, the federal government decided to eliminate the mandatory long form census and replace it with a voluntary survey that will be mailed to one-in-three Canadian households beginning next year.
In the online survey of a representative sample of 1,012 Canadians, almost half of respondents (47%) oppose the federal government’s decision to scrap the mandatory long form census, while 38 per cent support it. Opposition to the federal government’s move is highest in Ontario (54%) and British Columbia (53%).
The federal government has argued that the long form census is intrusive and Canadians should not be forced to answer it. Only one-in-four Canadians (24%) agree with this assessment, while a large majority (58%) think the long form census yields data that is important to make policy decisions in all areas of public service, and should remain mandatory.
The decision to scrap the mandatory long form census has been criticized by several provincial premiers, and ultimately led the head of Statistics Canada, Munir Sheikh, to leave his post.
More than half of Canadians (52%) believe the federal government should reverse its decision and keep the mandatory long form census. Conversely, 27 per cent of respondents want the federal government to stick by its assessment and carry on with the voluntary survey.
Political Allegiance
A large proportion of Canadians who voted for the Liberal Party (72%) and the New Democratic Party (NDP) (71%) believe that the federal government should reverse its decision and keep the mandatory long form census. Respondents who voted for the Conservative Party are almost evenly divided on this issue, with 42 per cent wanting the government to reverse its move, and 39 per cent arguing that the decision should stand.
While respondents who voted for the Conservatives are more likely to side with the government’s argument that the long form census is intrusive (31%, compared to 19% for both Liberal and NDP voters), a majority of Tory supporters (53%) believe that the long form census yields data that is important to make policy decisions in all areas of public service, and should remain mandatory.
Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)
CONTACT:Jodi Shanoff, Senior Vice President, Public Affairs
+416 712 5498
jodi.shanoff@angus-reid.com
