Articles by Bruce Anderson

Mar 13 2019 — Bruce Anderson — Abacus Data — Our most recent survey of attitudes towards a Canadian pharmacare initiative commissioned by the Canadian Life and Health Association (1,200 interviews, conducted between February 26 and March 3, 2019) reveals strong support for the idea of helping improve the affordability of medicine for those who have no drug insurance today, coupled with a broad desire […]

Oct 2 2018 — Bruce Anderson — Abacus Data — In our most recent national public opinion survey, we explored one of the most contentious topics in Canadian politics – oil – and found most people don’t find it all that contentious. When asked if they loved oil, hated oil, or “don’t have strong feelings about oil, it’s just a product that has some uses”, […]

Sep 28 2018 — Bruce Anderson — Abacus Data — As of today, 42% of voters say they would like to see the Liberals re-elected next year, and 58% say they would prefer to see a different party take power in Ottawa. To put this in context, the Liberal Party won in 2015 with 39% of the vote – so 42% can be enough, but […]

Sep 13 2018 — Bruce Anderson — Abacus Data — Today, 77% say that the medicines they need are affordable or “affordable enough” while 23% say they are unaffordable. Those who do not have private or group health insurance coverage are about three times more likely to say the medicines they need are unaffordable.

Aug 20 2018 — Bruce Anderson — Maclean's — At a Sunday rally in his Quebec riding of Papineau to announce that he will be running in the next election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau told the crowd that he plans to fight that campaign, in part, by arguing against polarization. So it’s a fair question to ask whether there’s much of a market for […]

Jun 5 2018 — Bruce Anderson — Abacus Data — In our latest national survey, we asked Canadians about a plastic garbage and oceans and waterways. Our findings are these: One in three (36%) say it is one of the most important environmental issues today, and another 52% say it is one of many that concern them. More than 3 million people (14% of Canadian […]

Apr 4 2018 — Bruce Anderson — Abacus Data — The political debate about climate change has become highly charged by the advocacy of those least concerned about climate change and those most convinced of the urgency of the problem. But while the charges and counter-charges among these small subsets of the population rage, Canadians, for the most part, won’t align either with the “there’s […]

Nov 9 2017 — Bruce Anderson — Abacus Data — For Canadian politicians, it’s riskier to ignore climate change than it is to propose solutions. Twenty years ago, when the world’s leaders were debating the Kyoto Accord, a case could be made that politicians who chose to be early champions of action to reduce emissions were running a certain amount of political risk. The public […]

Nov 1 2017 — Bruce Anderson — Abacus Data — There are almost 15 million adult women in Canada and according to our latest survey, almost 8 million of them (53%) have experienced unwanted sexual pressure. The prevalence of this experience is highest among women under 45. Just over one in ten Canadians says sexual harassment is “really quite common” in their workplace and another […]

Oct 20 2017 — Bruce Anderson — Maclean's — Political watchers were stunned a year ago when reality-TV personality Donald Trump swept past a field of seasoned politicians to win the biggest political prize in the world. Propaganda dressed up as news stories flooded the screens and phones of voters vulnerable to persuasion, in districts critical to the outcome of the race. Hillary Clinton […]

Sep 19 2017 — Bruce Anderson — Abacus Data — Commissioned by Universities Canada, Abacus undertook a nationwide survey looking at how Canadians feel about the role of universities today and in the future. The highlights of this study are detailed below. The large majority (78%) of Canadians express a positive overall feeling towards universities, with only 3% expressing a negative view. This is consistent […]

Jul 6 2017 — Bruce Anderson — Maclean's — Donald Trump was a most unconventional candidate when millions were desperate for a break from the conventional. Maybe, they hoped, his rough edges would be just what a political system calcified by convention needed. And Trump himself was determined to be the most consequential president ever: He promised to be a president who would matter, […]

Apr 28 2017 — Bruce Anderson — Maclean's — Forever it seems, Canadians have had jitters about our relationship with the United States. Pierre Trudeau likened it to sleeping beside an elephant. “No matter how friendly and even-tempered is the beast…one is affected by every twitch and grunt.” Watching Donald Trump run America—words like “friendly and even tempered” don’t come to mind. Words like […]

Mar 10 2017 — Bruce Anderson — Maclean's — In a couple of weeks, we’ll reach the end of the tent-growing phase of the Conservative Party leadership race. When Stephen Harper quit the leadership over a year ago, the Conservatives were given their first real chance in a decade to inspire their thinking, broaden their membership base, reach out to people who hadn’t considered […]

Mar 6 2017 — Bruce Anderson — Maclean's — A late Canadian politician shared some wisdom with me about politics, on a golf course years ago. A decent, intelligent—occasionally a bit coarse fellow (eg. after hitting a good drive, proudly announced “Got both cheeks into that one”)—he was astute about how people interpret politicians. He said it was useful for voters to know who […]