Canada PoliticsSurvey says only one per cent of Canadians have a ‘very favourable’ view of politicians
A new survey, commissioned by the Manning Centre, suggests something we probably already knew: Canadians don't have a very high opinion of their politicians.
In fact, politicians now probably rate even worse than lawyers and used-car salesmen.
The poll claims only one per cent of Canadians have a "very favourable" view of politicians.
The right-wing think tank, founded by former Reform Party leader Preston Manning, released the results of the survey during the organization's weekend networking event in Ottawa.
In a keynote address, Saturday, Manning argued the polling numbers, along with the robocall scandal, reinforce the need to improve the practices employed by all political organizations, including the Conservatives.
According to Postmedia News, Manning said training is needed in ethical politics and the ethical use of new political technologies such as automated voter calling and social media, such as Twitter and Facebook.
Business and journalism schools teach ethics courses, he said, and it's time for political science departments and party campaign schools to do the same.
Select questions from the Manning Centre survey:
Q: Generally speaking, how would you describe your feelings towards POLITICIANS? Would you describe your feelings towards them as very favourable, somewhat favourable, somewhat unfavourable or very unfavourable?
A: Very favourable: 1 per cent; Somewhat favourable: 21 per cent; Somewhat unfavourable: 50 per cent; Very unfavourable: 27 per cent
Q: Would you describe politicians in Canada as: Principled Or UNprincipled?
A: Principled: 42 per cent; UNprincipled: 58 per cent
Q: Would you describe politicians in Canada as: Honest Or DIShonest?
A: Honest: 31 per cent; DIShonest: 69 per cent
Q: Would you describe politicians in Canada as: More Concerned With MONEY Or More Concerned With PEOPLE?
A: MONEY: 90 per cent; PEOPLE: 10 per cent
Q: Would you describe politicians in Canada as: Truthful Or UNtruthful?
A: Truthful: 23 per cent; UNtruthful: 77 per cent
Q: Would you describe politicians in Canada as: Competent Or INcompetent?
A: Competent: 41 per cent; INcompetent: 59 per cent
Q: Would you describe politicians in Canada as: Hardworking Or Lazy?
A: Hardworking: 48 per cent; Lazy: 52 per cent
Q: Would you describe politicians in Canada as: Innovative Or Reactive?
A: Innovative: 15 per cent; Reactive: 85 per cent
Q: Would you describe politicians in Canada as "In Touch with the daily reality of Canadians" OR "Out-of Touch"
A: In Touch: 24 per cent; Out-of Touch: 76 per cent
The Manning Centre survey involved 2,067 on-line interviews between February 10th-20th, 2012. The margin of error for a representative sample of this size is 2.4 percentage points within a 95% confidence interval.
