Few Canadians Are Hopeful Before Harper Meets Aboriginal Leaders

by Angus Reid | January 9, 2013 10:00 am

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper is scheduled to discuss various concerns with Aboriginal leaders, many Canadians believe the impending meeting will be ineffective, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,008 Canadian adults, more than half of respondents (55%) think the meeting will be unsuccessful in improving relations between the federal government and Aboriginal people in Canada. Residents of Quebec (60%) and Ontario (56%) are particularly despondent.

Respondents to this survey were also asked whether the Canadian federal government has done a “good job” or a “bad job” in dealing with six policy issues since 2006.

While half of Canadians give the government positive marks on dealing with crime and public safety (51%) and the economy (50%), most provide a poor rating on health care (53%), the environment (53%), Aboriginal affairs (54%) and poverty (68%).

Two-in-five Canadians (43%) feel that relations between the federal government and Aboriginal people in Canada have worsened since 2006, while 38 per cent believe they have stayed the same and only seven per cent have seen an improvement.

Across the country, 55 per cent of respondents have seen, read or heard “a great deal” (24%) or “a fair amount” (31%) about the “Idle No More” campaign, while 45 per cent are not too aware or not aware at all about it.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)[1]

Methodology: From January 7 to January 8, 2013, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,008 randomly selected Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1%, 19 times out of 20. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

Endnotes:
  1. Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF): http://www.angusreidglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/2013.01.09_Aboriginal_CAN.pdf

Source URL: https://angusreid.org/few-canadians-are-hopeful-before-harper-meets-aboriginal-leaders/