Having the skill to manage a province’s finances is the most important attribute a premier can have, a recent Nanos poll has found. For this survey, the 1,002 Canadian adults polled were asked to rate the different responsibilities of a provincial premier on a scale from 1 to 10, with 1 being “not at all important” and 10 being “very important”. A total of 47.4 per cent of respondents rated the ability to manage public money as a 10, while 14.3 per cent rated it a 9 and 15.8 per cent rated it an 8. Only 0.6 per cent of respondents rated this ability as a 1.

Setting provincial policies to make a stronger economy was the next highest rated responsibility, with 44 per cent rating this skill as a 10, 16.9 per cent rating it a 9 and 15.4 per cent rating it an 8. The ability to win elections was the lowest rated skill, with only 19.4 per cent rating it at a 10, 11.8 per cent rating it a 9 and 14.9 per cent rating it an 8. For the full results, please go here.

A vast majority of people would give up their mobile phone if they had to choose between it and sex, a recent Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange (Ipsos OTX) and Ipsos Global @dvisor global poll has reported. A total of 78 per cent of respondents worldwide would give up their cell phone, while 22 per cent would give up sex. In Canada, only 12 per cent would give up sex, while the remaining 88 per cent would give up their mobile phone.

Most people prefer a small group of close friends over a large network of friends, a recent Ipsos Open Thinking Exchange (Ipsos OTX) and Ipsos Global @dvisor poll has found. This global poll found that 75 per cent of respondents would like to have a few close friends, while 25 per cent would like to have a large network of friends. In Canada, these numbers were even stronger, with 89 per cent preferring the small group of close friends and 11 per cent preferring a large network of friends.

Canada’s elected officials have been given an average rating in their ability to do multiple aspects of their jobs, a recent Nanos survey has reported. The 1,002 Canadian adults polled were asked to rate our elected officials on a scale of 1 to 10 (where 1 is very poor and 10 is excellent). A total of 53 per cent of respondents said they believe our elected officials deserve a rating of 4-7 in their ability to make decisions in the long term interests of Canada, while 25.5 per cent feel the rating should be 1-3, 16 per cent think it should be 8-10 and 5.4 per cent are unsure what rating they would give. When it comes to the ability to manage policy priorities in a changing situation, 55.7 per cent gave a 4-7 rating, 25.5 gave a 1-3 rating, 12.4 gave an 8-10 rating and 6.4 per cent were unsure. Finally, when asked about our elected officials’ ability to represent the views of voters that elected them, 51.7 gave a 4-7 rating, 32.2 per cent gave a 1-3 rating, 10.7 gave an 8-10 rating and 5.3 per cent were unsure.

People would rather give up social networking than television, a recent Ipsos Reid poll has reported. This survey found that 58 per cent of respondents worldwide would prefer to give up social networking, while 42 per cent would give up TV if they had to choose between the two. Respondents in Canada appear to be even more attached to their televisions, with 72 per cent saying that they would give up social networking and 28 per cent saying they would give up TV.

While the economic mood of Canadians appears to be staying stable, a new poll by Nanos shows that our personal financial situations have reached their lowest level since 2008. The survey of 1,002 Canadian adults measures the “Nanos Economic Mood Index” (based on a series of economy-related questions), the “Nanos Pocketbook Index” (measuring views related to job security and personal financial situation) and the “Nanos Expectations Index” (based on the direction consumers see the economy going). To see the methodology for these indices, go here.

Although this poll has found that the Economic Mood Index and the Expectations Index are staying fairly steady at 106.1 points (down from 107.8 points in March) and 122.7 points (up from 122.2 points in March) respectively, the Pocketbook Index has dropped to 92.5 points (down from 96.0 points in March).

Social networking sites are becoming another place for bullies to harass their victims, a recent Ipsos Reid poll has reported. Of the 416 Canadian teens surveyed, 21 per cent say they have witnessed someone they know being cyber bullied on an online social networking site. A total of 16 per cent have experienced someone else posting an embarrassing picture of themselves online, 12 per cent have had someone hack into their account and pretend to be them, and six per cent have had someone use information found online to harass them in real life (e.g. at school, home or work). Nearly half of those polled (49 per cent), however, have not experienced any of these examples of cyber bullying.

A large majority (75 per cent) of Canadians want an independent judicial inquiry into the recent election robo-calling allegations, an Ipsos Reid poll has found. Of the 75 per cent, 42 per cent “strongly agree” and 33 per cent “somewhat agree” that “a special, independent commission of inquiry with judicial powers should be established to find out what happened in the past election and make recommendations on our future election rules and structure”. Over half of Canadians, however (57 per cent) “agree” (18 per cent strongly agree, 39 per cent somewhat agree) that Elections Canada will get to the bottom of the claims and 42 per cent “disagree” (14 per cent strongly disagree, 27 per cent somewhat disagree) that they will.

When it comes to the economy, over half (54 per cent) of Canadians are in favour of the federal government’s actions, a Ipsos Reid poll released on Friday has reported. Just under half (46 per cent), however, disapprove of the government’s economy management.

The Conservatives still hold the lead over the other political parties with 37 per cent support from decided voters, according to a recent poll by Ipsos Reid. The NDP are in second with 29 per cent, followed by the Liberals with 23 per cent, the Bloc Québécois with seven per cent and the Green Party with four per cent.

In a similar poll by Ekos, 35.4 per cent of the 2,001 respondents surveyed said they would vote Conservative and 29.7 per cent said they would vote NDP. The Liberals came next with 19.6 per cent, followed by the Green Party at 8.1 per cent and the Bloc Québécois at 5.8 per cent. In this poll, respondents were also asked if they considered themselves “conservative” or “liberal”. A total of 40 per cent said they considered themselves liberal, while 30 per cent considered themselves conservative and 26 per cent felt they were neither.

While the Conservative party still leads the polls in federal vote intention, their numbers are down, according to a recent poll by Ekos politics (results here). In this poll of 3,669 Canadian adults, the Conservatives had 31.5 per cent support, with the NDP in a close second with 29.2 per cent. The Liberals were next with 21.7 per cent, followed by the Green Party at 8.3 per cent and the Bloc Quebecois at six per cent.

This survey also provided adjusted numbers based on “likely” voters (those who voted in the last election). These results showed the Conservatives at 32.1 per cent, the NDP at 28.9 per cent, the Liberals at 22.3 per cent, the Green Party at 7.6 per cent and the Bloc Quebecois at 6.1 per cent.

When asked what they thought about the direction our country is taking, 46.7 per cent feel the country is headed in the right direction, while 42.1 per cent feel it is heading in the wrong direction. When asked about the direction of the government, however, just over one-third of respondents (36.5 per cent) feel the government is heading in the right direction, while 52.7 per cent feel it is heading in the wrong direction.

Respondents were also asked about the controversial Bill C-30, the bill that would require Internet and telecommunications service providers to provide specific information about customers to police upon request and without a warrant. A total of 45 per cent say they feel the government should make significant revisions to the bill, 26 per cent feel the bill should be scrapped altogether and 16 per cent think the government should proceed with the bill as is.

Canadians are divided equally on whether or not immigration is having a positive effect on our country, a recent Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has reported. Of the 1,005 Canadian adults surveyed, 39 per cent think immigration is having a positive effect on Canada, while 39 per cent believe it is having a negative effect. The remaining 22 per cent are not sure. In a similar poll from September 2010, 34 per cent of respondents felt that immigration was having a positive effect on the country, while 46 per cent had the opposite opinion.

Half of Canadians (50 per cent) believe that illegal immigrants working in Canada should be required to leave their jobs and be deported, while 23 per cent think that they should be allowed to stay in Canada and eventually apply for citizenship. A total of 15 per cent believe illegal immigrants should be allowed to work in Canada on a temporary basis, but that they should not be allowed to become citizens.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents (58 per cent) believe that Canada should be a melting pot and that immigrants should assimilate and blend into our society. Almost one-third of respondents (30 per cent), however, would like Canada to be a mosaic, where cultural differences are preserved and valued.

Canadians feel that Apple is the most leading-edge brand out there, a recent Ipsos Reid poll has reported. Of the 1,013 Canadian adults polled, 45 per cent named Apple as the most leading-edge brand, followed by Google with 24 per cent, and Ikea and Microsoft at 23 per cent. For this survey, the following 14 statements were used to define “leading-edge”:

• Is a trendsetter
• Is unique
• Are unconventional
• Stand-out
• Is innovative
• Is an original
• Are ahead of its time
• Leads it competitors
• Sets an example for other brands
• Is edgy
• Is sexy
• Has forever changed the consumer landscape
• Is the benchmark I compare competitive brands against
• I can’t wait to see what they will introduce next

Ekos Politics has released a new report, Beyond the Horserace, which aims to look at the deeper issues facing our country. Released in six parts, the full report is available online here.

Here is a look at the type of questions asked in this report:

Federal Vote Intention

The Conservatives are still in first place as the favoured political party, with 31.4 per cent support. The NDP remain in second place with 29.5 per cent, followed by the Liberals at 24.8 per cent, the Bloc Quebecois at 6.7 per cent and the Green Party at 6.1 per cent. Ekos then took these results one step further and weighted them based on the May 2nd vote, in which only 60 per cent of Canadians came to the polls. The weighted results are: Conservatives at 36.7 per cent, NDP at 27.8 per cent, Liberals at 21.9 per cent, Bloc Quebecois at 6.6 per cent and Green Party at 6.1 per cent.

Direction of Country/Government

Nearly half of respondents (47 per cent) said they felt the country was moving in the wrong direction. A total of 41 per cent think Canada is moving in the right direction, while 12 per cent did not know or didn’t respond.

Respondents were also asked if the government was moving in the right direction or not. Over half (55 per cent) feel that they are moving in the wrong direction, while 33 per cent think they are moving in the right direction. The remaining 12 per cent did not know or did not respond.

Personal Financial Outlook

When asked to think ahead over the next year or so, nearly half of respondents (47 per cent) believe that their personal financial situation will be the same as it is now, while 30 per cent feel that it will be better and 23 per cent thought that it will be worse. In the next question, respondents were asked to look ahead five years or so. A total of 42 per cent feel that their personal financial situation will improve in that time frame, while 31 per cent think it will be the same and 25 per cent think it will be worse.

Role of Social Media in Democracy

The majority of Canadians (62 per cent) think that social media is good for democracy, while 17 per cent feel that it is harmful to democracy. The remaining 21 per cent did not know or did not respond to this question.

For the full report, please go here.

British Columbians are generally supportive of plans to build oil and condensate pipelines for export and import purposes, a recent Ipsos Reid poll has reported. This survey, conducted online, showed survey respondents the following description of the proposed Northern Gateway Pipelines Project:

“As you may know, Enbridge is the company leading the Northern Gateways Pipeline Project, which is a proposal to build an underground pipeline system between near Edmonton, Alberta and Kitimat, in Northern B.C. One pipline will transport oil to Kitimat for export by tanker to China and other Asian markets. A second pipeline will be used to import condensate (a product used to thin oil products for pipeline transport) to Alberta.”

Of the 1,000 British Columbian adults polled, 48 per cent (48 per cent overall, 14 per cent “strongly”) are in support of the project, while 32 per cent (32 per cent overall, 13 per cent “strongly”) are opposed. “Employment/economic benefits” was the top project benefit, according to 51 per cent of respondents, while the top project concern was “general environmental concerns” (43 per cent) and “risk of spills/leaks” (21 per cent).