open Secondary menu

Survey of Electors Following the April 3, 2017, By-elections in Calgary Heritage (Alberta), Calgary Midnapore (Alberta), Markham–Thornhill, (Ontario), Ottawa–Vanier (Ontario) and Saint-Laurent (Quebec)

III. Voting and Voter Participation

Voter Participation in April 3, 2017, By-election

Sixty-four percent of those aware of the by-election said they are sure they voted in the election. The likelihood of saying they voted in the by-election was higher among electors from the Calgary Heritage riding (77%), those age 55 and older (75%), English-speaking electors (67% vs. 54% of Allophones) and electors who voted in the 2015 federal general election (67% vs. 30% of those who did not vote). In addition, unemployed electors (71%) and those not in the workforce (75%) were more likely than students (38%) to say they voted in the by-election.

Voter  Participation in April 3, 2017, By-election

Text description of "Voter Participation in April 3, 2017, By-election"

Q2. Which of the following statements describes you?
Base: n=1,868; those who said they were aware of the by-election. Dk/nr: <1%

Main Reasons for Not Voting—Themes

Of those who did not vote (n=549), 53% said it was due to everyday life or health reasons. Additionally, three in 10 said they did not vote because of political reasons. Nine percent did not vote in the by-election due to electoral process–related reasons.

  • The likelihood of pointing to political reasons was higher among men (36%) and electors age 55 and older (34% vs. 18% of 25- to 34-year-olds).
  • Compared to English-speaking electors (49%), those who do not speak either official language (65%) were more likely to say they did not vote due to everyday life or health reasons.

 Main Reasons for Not Voting—Themes

Text description of " Main Reasons for Not Voting—Themes"

Q3: What is the main reason you did not vote?
Base: n=549; respondents who did not vote. Dk/nr: 1%

Main Reasons for Not Voting—Breakdown

Reasons for Not Voting %
Everyday life or health reasons 53%
Too busy 32%
Out of town 13%
Illness or disability 8%
Political reasons 30%
Did not like candidates/parties/campaign 10%
Felt voting would not make a difference 7%
Not interested in politics 5%
Lack of information about campaign issues and parties' positions 5%
Did not know who to vote for 3%
Electoral process–related reasons 9%
Lack of information about voting process (e.g. when/where to vote) 5%
Transportation problem/polling station too far 2%
Issues with the voter information card Less than 1%
Not on voters list Less than 1%
Could not prove identity or address Less than 1%
Other reasons 8%
Forgot to vote 5%
Religious or other beliefs 1%
Other 2%

Likelihood of mentioning being too busy decreased with age and was higher among students.

Of those out of town (n=94), 44% said they were outside of Canada.

Q3: What is the main reason you did not vote?

Base: n=549; respondents who did not vote. Dk/nr: 1%

Non-Voters—Likelihood of Voting Online

Nearly two thirds (65%) of non-voters would have voted had it been possible to do so over the Internet using the Elections Canada website. The likelihood of saying they would have voted online decreased with age, from 90% of those under 25 to 51% of those age 55 and older, and increased with education, from 54% of those with a high school education to 71% of university graduates.

Electors who would not have voted had it been possible to do so over the Internet using the Elections Canada website (n=176) were most likely to have said this was because they do not have a computer or lack Internet literacy (21%). The single greatest proportion, 23%, stated simply that they would not vote at all (i.e. the ability to vote online would not have motivated them to vote).

Non-Voters—Likelihood of Voting Online

Text description of "Non-Voters—Likelihood of Voting Online"

Q3C [left]: Would you have voted had it been possible to do so over the Internet using the Elections Canada website? Base: n=549; respondents who did not vote. Dk/nr: 1%

Q3D [right]: Why would you not vote over the Internet using the Elections Canada website? Base: n=176; respondents who would not vote using EC website. Dk/nr: 3%

Knowledge of Voting Methods

Nine in 10 respondents said that it is possible to use an advance polling station to vote when asked about various voting methods. In addition, more than half (59%) said it is possible to vote at the local Elections Canada office and 42% said it is possible to do so by mail.

Knowledge of Voting Methods

Text description of "Knowledge of Voting Methods"

Respondents from Ottawa–Vanier (93%) were more likely than those from Markham–Thornhill (88%) to mention an advance polling station.

Knowledge that it is possible to vote at the local Elections Canada office was higher among those in the ridings of Saint-Laurent (68%), Ottawa–Vanier (63%) and Calgary Midnapore (63%) than Markham–Thornhill (52%) or Calgary Heritage (49%).

Respondents from the riding of Saint-Laurent (33%) were least likely to know that it is possible to vote by mail.

Q9A. At federal elections, did you know that it was possible for you to vote… / Q9B. At federal elections, is it possible for you to vote… Split sample: n=999 and n=1001, all respondents. Refusal: less than 1%

This slide presents the aggregated results for n=2,000. There were differences by formulation, with Q9B resulting in higher proportions of respondents answering in the affirmative, although these differences were not significant.

Methods Used to Vote

Among respondents who voted in the April 3, 2017, by-election (n=1,312), three quarters (74%) said they used the polling station on election day. One in five (21%) said they used an advance polling station. Other methods were used by relatively few voters.

  • Voters from the riding of Calgary Midnapore (81%) were more likely to have voted at the polling station on election day than voters from the riding of Saint-Laurent (69%).
  • Those under 25 were least likely to have voted at a polling station on election day (42%) and more apt to have voted at the advance polling station (50%).

Methods Used to Vote

Text description of "Methods Used to Vote"

Q10: Which method did you use to vote? Was it...
Base: n=1,312; all respondents who voted. Dk/nr: <1%