Angus Reid Institute

Angus Reid Institute

The Angus Reid Institute is a Canadian non-profit public opinion research organization founded in 2014 to produce independent polling and public policy analysis. It conducts surveys, publishes reports, and provides data on public attitudes across Canada and internationally, engaging with media outlets such as the Globe and Mail, CBC Television, CTV Television Network, The New York Times, and BBC News. The Institute operates alongside academic partners including University of British Columbia, McGill University, and University of Toronto and contributes to discussions involving institutions like the Parliament of Canada, Statistics Canada, and international bodies such as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

History

The Institute was established in 2014 by media entrepreneur Angus Reid following a career at firms like Ipsos and associations with companies tied to the Nielsen Company and Globe and Mail. Early work included national surveys during the 2015 Canadian federal election and studies relevant to the Supreme Court of Canada decisions and provincial politics in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia. It has collaborated with think tanks such as the Fraser Institute and the David Suzuki Foundation and has profiled public opinion around events like the 2016 United States presidential election, the 2019 Canadian federal election, and the COVID-19 pandemic influenced debates involving Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization. Leadership transitions saw executives with backgrounds linked to institutions including Reuters, Bloomberg L.P., and The Globe and Mail.

Research and Methodology

The Institute employs probability-based and non-probability online panels, telephone sampling, and mixed-mode approaches, comparing methods used by Pew Research Center, Ipsos, and Gallup. Methodological notes reference standards from the American Association for Public Opinion Research and practices seen in academic journals hosted by Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. Studies frequently control for demographics associated with census data from Statistics Canada and adjustment techniques similar to those used by the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control in public health surveys. Projects have involved collaborations with university researchers at McMaster University, University of Alberta, and Queen’s University to validate experimental designs and weighting strategies.

Major Studies and Findings

Prominent reports have covered attitudes toward healthcare policies involving Health Canada, vaccine confidence linked to the World Health Organization guidance, climate change perceptions intersecting with the Paris Agreement, immigration and refugee policy related to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, and Indigenous reconciliation referencing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. Election polling tracked voting intention during contests including the 2015 and 2019 Canadian federal election campaigns and provincial ballots such as the Ontario provincial election and British Columbia provincial election. Internationally, the Institute published analyses on public sentiment after the 2016 United States presidential election and the 2017 French presidential election. Findings have informed reporting by outlets like The Washington Post, Financial Times, and Reuters and have been cited in parliamentary committee hearings and policy briefs at organizations including the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Conference Board of Canada.

Funding and Governance

The Institute is structured as a nonprofit funded through a combination of private donations, foundation grants, and revenue from custom research contracts, with fiscal ties reported in filings analogous to standards of the Canada Revenue Agency. Donors and partners have included philanthropic organizations comparable to the Vancouver Foundation and policy institutions such as the Broadbent Institute. Its board has featured leaders from sectors represented by corporations like Rogers Communications, media organizations including Postmedia Network, and academia at institutions such as Simon Fraser University. Governance practices emphasize independence and disclosure in line with norms advocated by the Canadian Press and watchdogs like Transparency International.

Reception and Impact

The Institute’s work has been widely cited by Canadian and international media, academic researchers at Harvard University, Oxford University, and Yale University, and has influenced public debate in legislative venues including the House of Commons of Canada and provincial legislatures. It has received praise for methodological transparency from commentators associated with The Globe and Mail and critique from polling analysts at organizations like Ipsos and Nanos Research regarding sampling and weighting choices. Its reports have contributed to civic engagement initiatives run by groups such as Elections Canada-related outreach programs and to academic conferences hosted by the Canadian Political Science Association and the International Social Survey Programme.

Category:Polling organizations Category:Non-profit organizations based in Canada