Quebecers and Canadians exhibit little trust in their provincial and federal governments

The New Nanos Trust Barometer

In an effort to benchmark and track perceptions of government trust Nanos has created a new Government Trust Barometer which measures perceptions related to the procurement of government contracts, enforcement of government regulations, working in the public interest, and the appointment of non-elected public officials.

The benchmark barometer rating established by Nanos indicates that Canadians rated their trust on many elements at or lower than 5 on a 10 point scale. In fact, regardless of the level of government or region only between 8 and 14 percent of Canadians trusted (8-10 score out of 10) governments on any of the trust indicators.

Key Findings

The latest Nanos national poll confirms Quebecers’ comparatively lower level of trust in their government. Perhaps the most interesting finding, however, is that they are not the only ones: the Nanos Trust Barometer reveals that Canadians across the country generally feel the same way about both federal and provincial governments.

Looking at the Provincial Government Trust Barometer which measures trust on a 10 point scale where 1 is no trust at all and 10 is complete trust, Quebecers exhibited, on average, the least amount of trust towards their government (4.27) compared to the national average, which was already low at 4.70 . “Procurement of government contracts” received the lowest average trust ratings across the board - and especially in Quebec where 47.5% of the respondents living in la belle province gave it less than 3 out of 10 ( no trust ), while only 3.4% gave a 8 to 10 rating (high trust). These findings mirror the current mood among Quebecers who are demanding a reluctant Charest government to spearhead a public inquiry on possible corruption in the province’s construction industry.

Looking at federal government trust ratings, all Canadians tended to provide roughly similar and low ratings (the national average was 4.64 overall). Of note, Conservative supporters rated the federal government comparatively higher than NDP and Liberal supporters on all trust indicators.

The detailed tables and methodology are posted on our website where you can also register to receive automatic polling updates.

Methodology Between September 25th and October 2nd, Nanos Research conducted a random telephone survey of 1,209 Canadians 18 years of age and older. A random telephone survey of 1,209 Canadians is accurate plus or minus 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The Nanos Trust Barometer is comprised of four indicators: Procurement of Government Contracts, Enforcement of Government Regulations, Working in the Public Interest and Appointment of Non-Elected Public Officials. Canadians were asked to rate each of these indicators on a 10 point scale, where 1 is no trust at all and 10 is total trust. Average ratings for each of the indicators are reported, and the trust barometer represents the average of those mean scores.

Provincial Trust Barometer: On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is no trust at all and 10 is complete trust, please rate your level of trust in the provincial government on the following: [Rotate] Procurement of government contracts, enforcement of government regulations, working in the public interest, and appointment of non-elected public officials.

The figures below represent average provincial trust ratings on a 10 point scale.

Canada (n=1,209) 4.70
Quebec (n=301) 4.27
British Columbia (n=181) 4.61
Ontario (n=364) 4.70
Prairies (n=242) 5.03
Atlantic (n=121) 5.25

Federal Trust Barometer: On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 is no trust at all and 10 is complete trust, please rate your level of trust in the federal government on the following: [Rotate] Procurement of government contracts, enforcement of government regulations, working in the public interest, and appointment of non-elected public officials.

The figures below represent average federal trust ratings on a 10 point scale.

Canada (n=1,209) 4.64
British Columbia (n=181) 4.39
Ontario (n=364) 4.62
Quebec (n=301) 4.63
Atlantic (n=121) 4.75
Prairies (n=242) 4.79

Get the new free Nanos iPhone app at http://bit.ly/nanosapp

What do you think?

Cheers,
Nik

Remember to rate the views of others - to allow us to recognize the opinion leaders in our national conversation.

Individuals with the top ratings make it to Nik’s Leaderboard