Archived—Introduction: Public opinion research in the Government of Canada—Annual report 2015 to 2016

The Government of Canada seeks input from Canadians to ensure their views and needs are reflected in the development of policies and delivery of programs and services. Each year, information for this purpose is collected through public opinion research. Research studies help federal departments and agencies learn about issues important to Canadians and what Canadians think about them. With this knowledge, the Government is in a position to tailor its programs, services and policies to better serve Canadians. Hence, public opinion research is an important means of engaging Canadians, and making government more accountable to them.

The Department of Public Works and Government Services is the major service provider to the Government of Canada. It is the Government’s contracting authority for public opinion research, and also provides technical advice, overall coordination, and annual reporting on contracted public opinion research activities^{Footnote 1}. The 2015 to 2016 report gives a summary of these research activities over the past fiscal year (April 1, 2015, to March 31, 2016). The format of this year’s report is different from reports from previous years. For example, in an effort to increase transparency, we have included a list of the individual research projects conducted by departments with their costs. In addition, this year, we have established a fixed publishing date (the first business day in September) for this and subsequent public opinion research annual reports.

Public opinion research helps the Government of Canada extract knowledge from information. If we ask the right questions and listen carefully, we can learn the views of Canadians on a whole range of issues that touch their lives. In this report you will see the sorts of research the Government discussed with its citizens.