Public Opinion Research Reports

FAQs

What is included in this site?

This site provides information about public opinion research reports contracted by Government of Canada departments and agencies since August 1, 2006. It covers all public opinion research reports that were contracted after that date and deposited with Library and Archives Canada under the provisions of the Federal Accountability Act.

The Federal Accountability Act states that departments have six months after the completion of fieldwork to submit final reports and executive summaries to Library and Archives Canada, the Library of Parliament, and Public Works and Government Services Canada.

What is not included in this site?

This site does not include the following types of public opinion research:

• research that is done internally by Government of Canada departments and agencies;
• public opinion research prepared for Crown corporations;
• syndicated surveys (since they are subscription services and are not done exclusively for the Government of Canada).

How do I obtain reports of public opinion research contracted before the new Government of Canada policy came into effect on August 1, 2006?

Library and Archives Canada has an extensive collection of older public opinion research reports submitted by federal departments and agencies. If a report was provided in electronic form, it will be available in Library and Archives Canada's electronic collection of public opinion research reports, which can be browsed in alphabetical order by department at:
http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/200/301/pwgsc-tpsgc/ por-ef/index.html.

Reports that were provided in printed form only can be obtained by contacting Library and Archives Canada at the following address:

Library and Archives Canada
Client Services Division
395 Wellington Street
Ottawa, ON K1A 0N4
Telephone: 613-996-5115 or 1-866-578-7777 (toll free in Canada and the US)
Fax: 613-995-6274
Online query form: www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/services/005-2021-e.php

If the report for public opinion research contracted prior to August 2006 has not been submitted to Library and Archives Canada, information or copies can be obtained from the Head of Communications for the department that contracted that research. Contact information for departmental communications offices is available in the Government Electronic Directory Services at: http://direct.srv.gc.ca/cgi-bin/direct500/BE. Select a specific organization from the list of departments. Then either:

• browse through the internal structure of that department to locate its communications office; or
• choose "Organization" as the search field and enter "communications" as your search term.

Where can I get more information about a specific public opinion research contract?

Questions about the content of a report or the context for a specific public opinion research contract should be referred to the department that issued the contract for that research. Contact information for the department should appear in the executive summaries and on the cover or title page of the report.

If the contact information is not provided or if the report is not yet available, questions should be referred to the Head of Communications for the department that contracted the research.

Contact information for all Government of Canada departments and agencies is available in the Government Electronic Directory Services at: http://direct.srv.gc.ca/cgi-bin/direct500/BE. Select a specific organization from the list of departments. Then either:

• browse through the internal structure of that department to locate its communications office; or
• choose "Organization" as the search field and enter "communications" as your search term.