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Aboriginal Elders and Youth Program Survey - 40th General Election


Detailed Results

Geographical Representation

  • All Canadian provinces were represented in this study. We do see that there are a greater proportion of respondents from Ontario (27%), Manitoba (18%), Saskatchewan (16%) and Quebec (10%).
  • Between the two elections, there were some statistical increases in the number of respondents from Newfoundland
  • The percentage of respondents has decreased significantly between the 40th and 39th General Election (-18%).
  • Although all Canadian provinces are represented, there are no respondents

Region

REGION

Aboriginal Groups

  • Overall, eight out of ten respondents (81%) identified themselves as status Indian. One in ten respondents is Métis (9%), 6% are Inuit and 2% non-status Indian. Three percent of those surveyed said they belong to another group.
  • The decrease in the percentage of status Indians who completed the questionnaire is statistically lower than during the 39th General Election in 2006.

Q11. In order to help us refine the Aboriginal Elder and Youth Program, we would like to know to which of the following groups you belong: (n=115)

Q11. In order to help us refine the Aboriginal Elder and Youth Program

Elders versus Youth

  • More than half of those surveyed (53%) participated in the AEYP program as a young person, while 47% of them were elders.

Q12. Did you participate in this program as a young person or an elder? (n=112)

Q12. Did you participate in this program as a young person or an elder? (n=112)

Method of Recruitment

  • Half of the respondents said they were recruited by the Community Relations Officer (51%).
  • One-quarter of them (26%) mentioned being recruited by the Returning Officer compared to 12% in 2006.
  • One in ten participants (11%) in the AEYP was brought into the program by Band Leaders / Councils.
  • Another one in ten respondents (9%) was recruited by a friend or teacher. This represents a statistical increase in comparison to the 39th General Election.
  • Finally, 3% of them were recruited by someone else.

Q1. Who recruited you for the Aboriginal Elder and Youth

Q1. Who recruited you for the Aboriginal Elder and Youth

Participation in Previous Election

  • For a majority of respondents, participation in the AEYP program was a first for them (85%), while 15% of them had already participated in the program. There's a greater proportion of first-timers in Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia.
  • Fourteen participants (82%) who were previously involved in the AEYP program mentioned having participated in 2006. Three of them (18%) participated in the program in 2004. These results are presented for informational purposes and have no statistical significance due to the small sample size.

Q2. Is this the first time you participated in this program, or have you done it in a previous election? (n=111)

Q2. Is this the first time you participated in this program

Q2B. When was that? (n=17)**

Q2B. When was that? (n=17)**

Number of People Directly Assisted

  • Respondents were asked to identify the number of people they directly assisted on polling day. Overall, one in five respondents did not assist anyone (20%). This is a significant increase in comparison to the last election.
  • Three out of ten respondents (31%) helped more than 20 people, one in five respondents (20%) assisted one to five people, 14% of them aided six to ten electors and another 14% helped 11 to 20 people.
  • As a whole, respondents aided 12 people on average on polling day. If we focus on the 80% that provided aid to electors, the average number of people assisted climbs to 15. A greater percentage of respondents from Quebec (27%) and Manitoba (37%) did not assist anyone on polling day.

Q3. Approximately how many people did you directly assist on polling day? (n=108)

Q3. Approximately how many people did you directly assist on polling day? (n=108)

Training Session

  • Six out of ten respondents (58%) participated in a training session. Slightly less than during the last election. This decrease is not statistically significant.
  • Quebec, Alberta and British Columbia had a higher proportion of participants in the AEYP program for the first time. Consequently, these provinces had higher levels of participation in the training session - Quebec (77%), Alberta (100%) and BC (78%).
  • Three out of ten respondents who provided feedback on the training session thought it was good and interesting (31%). Just over one-quarter of them (27%) said it was quite informative. One in ten respondents (12%) thought it was an efficient training session, quick and easy. One in ten said it was helpful (8%).
  • Nearly one in five respondents (18%) gave some negative feedback - 12% said the session was inadequate and not very informative and 6% thought it was overwhelming, difficult to understand and it contained too much information.

Q4. Did you attend a training session on this program? (n=114)

Q4. Did you attend a training session on this program? (n=114)

Q4B. Please tell us what you thought of it. (n=51)
ase : Respondents who attended the training session
Total 40th General Election Total 39th General Election
POSITIVE FEEDBACK
Good , interesting 31% arrow up to show increase 17%
Informative 27% 28%
Efficient, quick and easy 12% arrow up to show increase --
Helpful 8% arrow down to show decrease 14%
Helped understand my position -- arrow down to show decrease 2%
Helps understand the voting process -- arrow down to show decrease 11%
Other 4% --
NEGATIVE FEEDBACK
Inadequate and not very informative 12% arrow up to show increase --
Overwhelming / Hard / difficult to understand
/ too much information
6% 2%
Lacked clarity (roles, positions, etc.) -- arrow down to show decrease 4%

Vouching for Unregistered Electors

  • One-quarter of the respondents (26%) had to vouch for unregistered electors. This result tends to be greater in British Columbia (60%), Alberta (50%) and PEI / New Brunswick (50%).
  • Although a greater percentage of respondents had to vouch for electors, this increase is not a statistical one.

Q5. Did you vouch for an elector who did not have identification (i.e. did you swear an oath that the elector was qualified to vote)? (n=105)

Q5. Did you vouch for an elector who did not have identification (i.e. did you swear an oath that the elector was qualified to vote)? (n=105)

Frequency of Tasks Undertaken

  • Nearly one in five respondents (18%) answered questions about voter identification / attestation of residence, either very often (5%) or often (13%). Four out of ten respondents did not have to answers questions pertaining to voter identification.
  • Asked if they acted as a liaison between polling officials and voters, 4% of them said they did so very often and 9% did it often. Half of them (52%) did not have to provide liaisons between electors and polling officials.
  • More than one in ten respondents (13%) answered questions about how the process worked either very often (1%) or often (12%). Furthermore, 45% of them did not have to answer questions pertaining to the process.
  • Assisting electors reading their ballot was a common task for 5% of those surveyed. Another 26% had to help voters sometimes, while 69% of those surveyed never had to assist electors reading their ballot.
  • Nearly two-thirds of those surveyed (64%) did not have to interpret or translate anything for electors. However, 32% of them had to do it sometimes and 4% interpreted or translated often (1%) or very often (3%).
  • Finally, one-third of respondents did some additional tasks very often (28%) or often (4%), while 60% of them did not take on any additional tasks.
  • Along with these tasks, some of the other tasks respondents did to help out are greet people, help electors to and from polling stations, directed electors to polling stations and assisted the DRO.
Q6. How frequently did your work involve each of the following tasks?
OFTEN Very Often Often SOMETIMES / NEVER Sometimes Never
Answering questions about voter identification / attestation of residence (2008) 18% 5% 13% 82% 42% 40%
Liaising between polling officials and voters (2008) 14% 4% 9% 86% arrow up to show increase 34% 52% arrow up to show increase
Liaising between polling officials and voters (2006) 19% 7%% 12% 67% 32% 35%
Answering questions about how process works (2008) 13% arrow down to show decrease 1% arrow down to show decrease 12% 87% arrow up to show increase 42% 45% arrow up to show increase
Answering questions about how process works (2006) 22% 6%% 16% 65% 37% 28%
Assisting with reading ballot (2008) 5% 0% arrow down to show decrease 5% 95% arrow up to show increase 26% 69% arrow up to show increase
Assisting with reading ballot (2006) 8% 5% 3% 79% 26% 53%
Interpreting / translating (2008) 4% 3% 1% 96% arrow up to show increase 32% 64%
Interpreting / translating (2006) 8% 4% 4% 79% 23% 56%
Other 32% 28% 4% 68% 8% 60%

Usefulness of Program in Creating a Welcoming Environment for Aboriginal Electors

  • More than nine out of ten respondents (94%) feel that the program was beneficial in creating a welcoming environment for Aboriginal voters. As a whole, participants in Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland expressed lower agreement levels.
  • Half of those surveyed did not provide any comments, but those who did said it made for a welcoming environment (10%), 8% mentioned that it helped people, 6% evoked the fact that it made people more comfortable. Furthermore, 6% of those surveyed said it brought young people and elders together, that it created higher voter turnouts (5%) and that it was helpful in general (3%).

Q7. Did you find the program helpful in creating a welcoming environment for Aboriginal electors? (n=108)

Q7. Did you find the program helpful in creating a welcoming environment for Aboriginal electors? (n=108)

Q7B. Please add comments. (n=101)
Base : Respondents who provided comments on the program
Total 40th General Election Total 39th General Election
Welcomed / greeted people / very welcoming environment 10% 7%
Helped people 8% 7%
Made people more comfortable 6% arrow down to show decrease 18%
Brought young people and elders together 6% --
Higher turnout / participation 5% 4%
It was helpful (general) 3% 4%
Provided happy / familiar face -- 7%
A welcome / friendly attitude -- 4%
Aboriginal elders helped -- 4%
People in community helped -- 4%
Need more information of party platforms for Aboriginals -- 3%
Eliminated language barrier -- 2%
Socialized / talked to people -- 2%
Pamphlets / posters -- 2%
Information sessions -- 2%
Other 7% 11%

Usefulness of Program in Assisting Aboriginal Electors to Understand the Voting Process

  • Generally speaking, nine out of ten respondents (89%) found the program helpful in assisting Aboriginal electors to understand the voting process. This result tends to be lower in Quebec (70%) and Newfoundland (67%).
  • Respondents who provided comments thought it helped people understand the voting process, that it was helpful and informative and that it enabled to answer electors' questions.
  • The main reason why respondents felt the program was not useful in assisting Aboriginal electors understand the voting process was because, in their opinion, electors were already knowledgeable about the voting process.

Q8. Did you find the program helpful in assisting Aboriginal electors to understand the voting process? (n=106)

Q8. Did you find the program helpful in assisting Aboriginal electors to understand the voting process? (n=106)

Q8B. Please explain (n=94)
Base : Respondents who provided comments
Total 40th General Election
NO Comments 72%
It helped people understand the process 16%
It was helpful, informative 6%
Questions were answered 3%
Other 2%

Potential Improvements to the Aboriginal Elder and Youth Program

  • The main improvement suggested by respondents is to have more and better training and information sessions (42%).
  • Just over one in five respondents thought it was fine (22%).
  • One in ten participants (12%) evoked a need for more collaboration between elders and young people. More involvement from the two groups (6%).
  • Some respondents mentioned a need for additional advertisement and information to electors (6%).
  • Finally, 4% of them thought it would be pertinent to have translators on hand to help electors (4%).
Q9. Using the space below, please provide any suggestions on how to
improve the Aboriginal Elder and Youth Program (n=50)
Base : Respondents who provided comments
Total 40th General Election Total 39th General Election
Better / more training / Have more information sessions 42% arrow up to show increase 13%
Fine as is 22% arrow up to show increase 9%
Youth and Elders should work together 12% arrow up to show increase 2%
Have more elders / Youth involvement... more involvement in general 6% 8%
Advertise / Disseminate voter information 6% 3%
Speak / understand the Native language / have translators on hand 4% 2%
Should be more informational -- 7%
Include First Nations / Aboriginals -- 3%
More improved Youth programs -- 3%
Have food and refreshments -- 2%
Information / education on electoral process -- 2%
Have more often / keep going -- 2%
Better location of polling stations -- 2%
Other 8% 20%

Potential Improvements to Better Serve Aboriginal Electors

  • One in five respondents did not provide any insight on how to improve services to Aboriginal electors.
  • Respondents who offered some comments emphasized the importance of increasing advertisement among Aboriginal electors (18%) and the beneficial outcome of holding more information sessions (18%).
  • Other important points evoked are the importance of getting the youth and band members involved (12%), providing better electoral lists (12%).
  • Providing or improving transportation (6%), not dividing the reserve (4%) as well as communicating in Native language are important, but were mentioned by fewer respondents.
Q10. Using the space below, please provide any suggestions on how Elections Canada could improve its services to Aboriginal electors. (n=51)
Base : Respondents who provided comments
Total 40th General Election Total 39th General Election
Increase / more advertisement 18% arrow up to show increase 12%
Hold information sessions 18% arrow up to show increase 7%
Get youth / band members involved 12% 8%
Provide better electoral lists 12% --
Provide or improve transportation 6% arrow up to show increase 2%
Do not divide the reserve 4% arrow up to show increase --
Communicate in Native language 2% 4%
Translate material in Native language 2% --
Be more informative -- 7%
Explain importance of voting -- 7%
Bring candidates to region -- 6%
Get more involved / more interaction with community -- 5%
Visit homes -- 4%
Target Aboriginal in ads -- 4%
Let us know polling station locations -- 2%
Inform well in advance -- 2%
Encourage people to vote -- 2%
Other 10% 20%