Most Canadians Not Impacted by
Political Ads
But of those few impacted, the majority
said the impact was negative
Toronto, August 12th, 2019 – In a
random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among 1733 Canadian voters, two-thirds (63%)
have seen a political advertisement in the past month while 4-in-10 (37%) have
not.
Those more likely to have seen an advertisement
include those aged 18 to 34 (64%), 55 to 64 (64%), or 65 and over (67%), males
(68%), earning $60k+ (67% of those earning $60k-$80k, 65% of those earning
$80k-$100k, and 67% of those earning $100k-$250k), those who have completed
college or university (66%) and post-grads (69%), those living in Alberta (72%)
and Manitoba/Saskatchewan (70%), and Conservatives (71%).
It’s worth noting that: two-thirds (63%) of
Liberal voters, two-thirds (66%) of NDP voters, half (49%) of Green voters,
6-in-10 (62%) of Bloc Quebecois voters, and 6-in-10 (57%) of People’s Party of
Canada voters have seen a political advertisement in the past month.
Those less likely to have seen an advertisement
include females (41%), those earning less than $20k (41%) or $20k-$40k (45%),
the least educated (52%), those living in Quebec (45%), and Green Party voters
(51%).
It’s worth nothing that: a little under a third
(29%) of Conservative voters, 4-in-10 (37%) Liberal voters, a third (34%) of NDP
voters, 4-in-10 (38%) of Bloc Quebecois voters, and 4-in-10 (43%) of People’s
Party of Canada voters have not seen a political advertisement in the past
month.
Most Canadians say political ads have not impacted their
political opinions
Respondents that said they had viewed a
political ad were then asked to gauge the impact, or lack thereof, the ads had
on their opinions of parties, leaders, or local candidates. The plurality (BTM2:
80%) said the ads had no impact on their opinions, with two-thirds (65%) saying
it had no impact at all. A fifth (TOP2: 20%) said the ads did impact their
opinions with a few (5%) saying it had a strong impact.
Those more likely to say it had an impact
include females (24%), those earning $60k-$80k (31%), those with some college
or university (22%) and post-grads (23%), those living in Manitoba/Saskatchewan
(27%) and Ontario (25%), and those voting for the Liberals (24%), Greens (26%),
and the People’s Party of Canada (24%).
It’s worth noting that: one fifth (19%) of
Conservative and (17%) NDP voters, and only (6%) of BQ voters said the ads had
an impact. (TOP2)
Those more likely to say it did not have an
impact include those aged 18-34 (84%), males (83%), the least wealthy (85%) and
those earning $80k-$100k (83%), with secondary school education or less (82%)
and completed college or university (82%), those living in Quebec (90%), and
those voting for the Bloc Quebecois (94%).
It’s worth noting that: (81%) of Conservative
voters, (76%) of Liberal voters, (83%) of NDP voters, (74%) of Green voters,
and (76%) of PPC voters said the ads did not have an impact (BTM2).
Those who were impacted by political ads say their
impact is negative
Respondents who said they were impacted by
political ads were then asked to determine whether the impact was negative or
positive. Two-thirds (64%) say that the impact was negative while a third (36%)
say their impact was positive.
Those more likely to say the impact was negative
include those aged 18 to 34 (69%) and those aged 55 to 64 (67%), those earning
$40k-60k (72%), those who completed college or university (71%) and post-grads
(73%), those living in Atlantic Canada (86%), and those voting for the Liberals
(75%).
It’s worth noting that, amongst those who were
impacted by ads: half (49%) of Conservative voters, two-thirds (71%, n=35%) or
Green (72%, n=37%) voters felt the impact was negative.
Those more likely to say the impact was positive
include those aged 45 to 54 (44%), the least wealthy (44%) and those earning $80k-$100k
(43%), the least educated (55%), those living Quebec (57%) and Alberta (58%).
It’s worth noting that, amongst those impacted
by ads: half (51%) of Conservative voters, a quarter (25%) of Liberal voters,
just under a third (29%, n=35) of NDP voters, and a quarter (28%, n=37) of
Green voters say the impact was positive.
“Most Canadians say they weren’t impacted by a political advertisement,” said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. “But
Conservative voters are far more likely to say that the ad impacted them
positively, than supporters of the other national parties. The question
becomes, can the Conservatives turn this into a campaign advantage amongst the
small subset of the population who is affected by political advertising?”
