Insights

Our spark*insights team devours data from everywhere and develops custom research for our clients. We study what people want, like, vote for, and why. We explore company and industry reputation, issue and crisis management, ad design and testing. We are a go to for the latest and most pertinent information to help our clients make informed decisions. Because it’s better to know.

Find out what we can do to help you, email bruce@sparkadvocacy.ca or alex@sparkadvocacy.ca right now.

Bruce Anderson

Most Canadians think flexible work arrangements are good both for productivity, and for employees

New spark*insights research finds two-thirds of Canadians believe work from home helps organizational productivity.

Bruce Anderson

Les Canadiens veulent protéger les travailleurs canadiens en se joignant aux États-Unis et au Mexique dans la lutte contre le dumping chinois d’acier, d’aluminium et de VE.

79 % des Canadiens appuient la démarche des États-Unis et du Mexique visant l'imposition de tarifs sur les importations de produits chinois

Bruce Anderson

Canadians want to protect Canadian workers by joining the US & Mexico in the fight against Chinese dumping of steel, aluminum and EV’s.

79% of Canadians support joining with the US and Mexico with tariffs on Chinese products

Bruce Anderson

Harris would Trump the Donald, if Canadians could vote

But young men and young women are far apart on this choice

Greg MacNeil
Bruce Anderson

Defence and Dollars

New spark*insights research shows a path forward on defence spending

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

It's a "Summer" Olympics

Canadians wish they could be like Summer McIntosh, with swimming topping the list of Olympic ambitions

Bruce Anderson

As access to health care has become more difficult, Canadians want government to encourage use of virtual care

More than 70% of voters for every major political party say virtual care options should be encouraged

Bruce Anderson

Capital Gains: "Gated communities" argument is a loser

Freeland's rhetoric on class divisions fails to boost support for the new tax policy

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Conservatives lead by 19

Liberals losing the left, right, centre right, and have only a narrow advantage on the centre left

Bruce Anderson

Streaming lets Canadians find music they love – and Canadian musicians find audiences around the world

New spark*insights polling shows Canadians are happy with their streaming services, but may cancel if prices rise

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Budget reaction: Housing plan popular, capital gains tax divides, deficit disappoints.

New spark*insights polling shows support for some key budget policies, but low recall of budget measures among the young target audience.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Budget reaction: most think they will pay more, and only 1 in 10 think they will benefit.

spark*insights post-Budget research shows Canadians are worried the 2024 Budget will cost them more.

Alex Kohut

Capital gains tax dominates Budget Day conversation

Google Trends data suggests Canadians were most interested in new taxation measures in searches conducted in the first 24 hours after the Budget Speech

Bruce Anderson

Poilievre: too right; Trudeau: too left

Most Canadians define their politics around the centre of the political spectrum, but Trudeau and Poilievre aren't seen as centrist figures.

Alex Kohut

What You Need to Know About the Upcoming New Brunswick Election

A deeply divided electorate in New Brunswick is likely to result in the closest provincial election of 2024

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

83% feel Brian Mulroney did a good job as Prime Minister

Brian Mulroney, the 18th Prime Minister of Canada, held that office from September 1984 to June of 1993. During that time, he launched several major initiatives, some of which were controversial at the time.

Bruce Anderson

Canadians support investing in clean energy and broadband connection to Nunavut

84% of Canadians support federal funding for an Inuit-owned project known as the Kivalliq Hydro-Fibre Link, which would bring hydroelectric power and high-speed internet service to Northern communities.

Bruce Anderson

What if Canadians could vote?

Canadians would vote yes on freedom to access abortion services, yes to climate action and no to breaking up the CPP

Bruce Anderson

Most Canadians think Putin will win if the west stops helping Ukraine

Canadians believe that Russian aggressions will not stop there, and Canada should do what we can to help.

Alex Kohut
Bruce Anderson

What's in a Word? Plenty

In our first release in a series analyzing the messaging choices made by Canadian politicians, spark*insights is looking at what each party leader said most in the House of Commons in 2023.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Millions of Canadians use - and like - music streaming services

Two-thirds of Canadians are using audio streaming services, and these users tend to be satisfied with their streaming experience.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

3 in 4 Canadians want the CBC – just not “as is”

Our latest survey shows only one quarter of Canadians want the CBC shut down, but there is a lot of desire for change.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Trump would lose Canada, but not by as much as you might think

Our latest spark*insights research shows if Canadians were voting in the US Presidential election, Trump would lose, but by a lower margin than you might think.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Is climate worry turning into climate despair?

More Canadians expect a climate catastrophe than think the world will come together to avert one.

Bruce Anderson

Trailing by 14, perceptions of Justin Trudeau lag those of Pierre Poilievre

Our latest survey results show the Conservatives would win a landslide in a federal election held today, with 40% support among those decided, compared to 26% for the Liberals.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Inflation is by far a bigger pain point for Canadians than interest rates. And people aren’t sure we are out of the woods yet.

Our latest research shows that when it comes to what is making them feel hardship, inflation is a worse problem for far more people. These findings are based on a national online survey of 2000 adult Canadians.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

91% of Canadians fear AI can manipulate opinions and elections

Fresh research by spark*insights reveals Canadians are divided about the benefits and drawbacks of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on society, and worried about the impact on democracy. Here’s what we found:

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Trudeau trails Harper, Mulroney, Chretien, and Pierre Trudeau in perceived performance as Prime Minister

Two thirds of those interviewed think Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney and Jean Chretien were better at the job of Prime Minister than Justin Trudeau has been. A majority, 57%, think Stephen Harper was a better Prime Minister than the current incumbent.

Bruce Anderson

Sensible, practical and focused - rather than big bold ambitions and lots of change: that’s what most Canadians want from Ottawa now

When voters signal a restlessness for change, sometimes it’s because they want a big new vision, and lots of fresh new ideas. That’s not exactly the mood of most Canadians today.

Bruce Anderson

No, Justin Trudeau is not hated

These days it’s hard to escape conventional wisdom that Justin Trudeau is deeply disliked by Canadians. Only thing is, it’s not accurate.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Anaida Poilievre’s words delivered a powerful message about her husband, using words like family and “love”

She conveyed a softer, family-oriented side to the CPC leader.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Half of Canadians have had COVID, but many of them aren’t sure they will take another booster

One in every two Canadians (49%) say they contracted COVID, including 1-in-10 (11%) who were infected more than once. But while almost 90% of Canadians have had prior vaccinations for COVID, a lot fewer are sure they will get another booster, and 28% are sure they will not do so.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Suspicions about the Government of India are widespread, and most think the Government of Canada has taken the right approach with respect to killing of Hardeep Nijjar.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Canadians are divided on school pronoun mandates

The following findings are from a spark*insights survey commissioned by Egale Canada. Here’s what we found.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Axe the Tax?

Conservatives say killing it will save people money, others say it’s an essential in the fight against climate change. Here’s how it lands with voters.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

Housing is a monster issue, but it’s not affecting everyone the same way

Here’s what we know about the hottest issue in Canadian politics.

Bruce Anderson
Alex Kohut

If Canada were the 51st US state, we would rank about 51st in support for Donald Trump

Bruce Anderson

If the mood is down, are incumbents bound to lose?

What’s the mood of the country? For a long time this question has been understood as a surrogate for “how do I feel about Canadian politicians in power”. How true that ever was is open to debate, but generally if people thought things were “on the wrong track” they were more open to challengers and more skeptical about incumbents. Something’s different today.

Bruce Anderson

Is Canada “broken”? Are Canadians “woke”?

Given three choices to describe the state of the nation: (“Canada is broken, Canada is going through some challenges, but isn’t broken, or Canada is actually doing well”) one in three believe Canada is broken.

Bruce Anderson

CBC Support is softer than you might think

It’s not quite 100 years old, and it’s not a sure thing it will make it to 100.

Bruce Anderson

BC Residents Strongly Support Developing Critical Minerals to Tackle Climate Change Public View of Province's Mining Sector Very Favourable Overall

Bruce Anderson

Is it better to fight for the middle class, or their powerful paycheques?

In 2015, the Liberals gained good momentum by talking about “fighting for the middle class, and all those working to join it.” Our research suggests there’s remains plenty of appeal in that theme, on the surface of it, that seems good.

Bruce Anderson

Poilievre the strongest challenger Trudeau has faced

New spark* polling data shows more people think Poilievre understands their lives, and has a plan to help them, than think Justin Trudeau does.

Bruce Anderson

Canadians and Health Care: Workplace and Group Insurance Plans

Bruce Anderson

Canadians and Healthcare: Satisfaction and feelings about delivery options in 2023

Barely half of Canadians say the healthcare system is working well enough to meet their needs.