Event Summary:
 

Portraits of Canada 2004
Presented by The Canadian Unity Council and the CIIA
November 12, 2004
Summary By Renee van Kessel
The Canadian Unity Council ("CUC"), in conjunction with the CIIA, presented the findings of the CUC's 2004 "Portraits of Canada" survey to a distinguished gathering of consuls and ambassadors posted in Toronto, over a lunch at the offices of Davies Ward Phillips and Vineberg.
 
For the second consecutive year, the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (Toronto branch) has co-sponsored this event with the Canadian Unity Council's Centre for Research and Information on Canada (CRIP). The lauded CRIP research is based on a survey of Canadians from coast to coast, and tracks trends and assesses the pulse of the nation on various political, economic and social issues facing our citizens. From the responses of 3200 Canadians in all geographic regions and socioeconomic strata of Canada, the CUC provided thorough analysis of the findings, which were presented by Rebecca Low, Director, CUC and Vice-President, CIIA Toronto Branch.
 
In summary, the survey detected the following trends in Canadian opinion:

• Canadians want political cooperation and an increase in accountability of governments and politicians, value a minority government, dislike inter-governmental "finger-pointing", and would like to see more women in government. Canadians want Senate reform (with 47% of Quebecers believing it should be abolished entirely), referenda on moral issues, political parties to keep their promises, and accountability in politics (they believe that patronage is an avoidable part of the system).
• When regional differences are explored, there appears to be a growth in regional alienation, in the East, West and Quebec. Less than 35% of citizens surveyed in each of Newfoundland/Labrador, Saskatchewan, Nova Scotia, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories believe that they are "treated with respect by the rest of the country." Similarly, only Ontario feels it is "getting its fair share of influence" in national decision-making.
• Prioritizing the issues that matter to Canadians, the survey found that Canadians, universally across all geographic regions had as their top three priorities: protecting the environment, spending more money on health care, and increasing federal/provincial cooperation.
• The top three priorities for Canadians in relation to our international role are our participation in UN peacekeeping, our role in NATO, and our assistance in the efforts to reduce HIV/AIDS in Africa.
• In relation to Canada's position to the United States of America, Canadians are clearly divided, with 41% declaring their desire to see relations stay as they are, 34% want closer ties (a reduction of 10% from last year's figure), and 24% want less ties with the US (an increase over last year).

It was apparent from the thorough and insightful questions from the audience, that the members of the diplomatic community were appreciative of the overview of Canada and its citizens which the survey provided for them.
 
View the event flyer: Flyer.
 

Event Video:
 

Rebecca Low and participants at the Portraits of Canada event listen as pollster and senior Environics executive Donna Dasko, reviews a key component of the research results from the 2004 survey.
 
Event Photos:
 

Rebecca Low, Director of the Centre for Research and Information on Canada (CRIC), presents the findings of the Portraits of Canada 2004 survey at a session co-sponsored with the Toronto branch of the Canadian Institute of International Affairs (CIIA).
 

Consuls general in attendance at the joint CRIC and CIIA (Toronto) session hear comments from Rebecca Low and Donna Dasko, Senior VP of Environics Research Group and a key participant in the Portraits of Canada Survey.
 

Above and below: Keith Martin, President of CIIA (Toronto) thanks participants for attending the Portraits of Canada event.