Turns out there really are more important things for Canadians than the weather and worrying about offending someone. Or maybe that’s just because politicians can’t influence the climate or manage our allocation of sorries.
Using a nifty tool that pits two random policies against each other and asks users which one they prefer, Maclean’s has determined the 10 most pressing issues Canadians care about ahead of the October 19 federal election. It doesn’t identify which parties support the policies, which eliminates a significant degree of bias.
According to data compiled from over 100,000 respondents, Canadians really care about making government-funded science available to the public (76 per cent). Without diving into partisanship, that does not bode well for our current government.
Implementing a national pharmacare program is the second most important election issue, which is supported by 70 per cent of those asked. Sixty-eight per cent of Canadians identified launching a national inquiry into missing and murdered indigenous women as their third-highest priority.
The Green Party supports 8 of the 10 most important policies, which, considering their two-seat occupation in the House, suggests there is a major disconnect between voter ideals and reality. The Conservatives, meanwhile, support only one of the top 10 issues (a $150 million investment in community infrastructure).
A separate poll released today by Forum Research revealed what Canadians think of the country’s most stirring social issues, the results of which indicate we’re becoming increasingly liberal in our views on prostitution, assisted suicide, retirement age, and marijuana.
Almost 50 per cent of respondents said prostitution should be legal, while 38 per cent said it should not; 67 per cent said assisted suicide should be legal, while 23 per cent said no, and 11 per cent said they don’t know; 54 per cent are in favour of marijuana legalization, while 35 per cent are against it; 65 per cent would like to see the retirement age brought back to 65 years from 67 years.
Some interesting insight into what our increasingly millennial generation values – all of which is meaningless unless you voice your opinion where it really matters: on the voting ballot.
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