Ekos Research Associates

Ekos Research Associates
Name	Ekos Research Associates
Type	Private
Founded	1980s
Headquarters	Ottawa, Ontario
Industry	Market research

Ekos Research Associates is a Canadian social and public opinion research firm based in Ottawa, Ontario. Founded in the 1980s, it has provided polling, survey research, and program evaluation for a range of clients across Canadian federal, provincial, and municipal contexts. The firm has engaged with media outlets, political parties, non‑profit organizations, and corporate clients on issues related to public policy, electoral behaviour, and social attitudes.

History

Ekos emerged during a period of expansion in Canadian polling and market research alongside firms such as Ipsos, Nanos Research, Angus Reid, Environics Research Group, and Strategic Counsel. Its founding coincided with debates over the impact of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and constitutional events like the Meech Lake Accord and the Charlottetown Accord, which increased demand for public opinion data. Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, Ekos supplied research during provincial elections in Ontario, Quebec, and British Columbia and federal campaigns involving the Liberal Party of Canada, the Conservative Party of Canada, and the New Democratic Party. The firm adapted to methodological shifts driven by technological change, including the proliferation of random digit dialing and later online panels influenced by developments at organizations such as SurveyMonkey and academic centres like the University of Ottawa and the University of Toronto survey research units.

Services and Methodology

Ekos provides services including public opinion polling, program evaluation, stakeholder consultation, and strategic communications research for clients such as media organizations, think tanks, and government departments like those in Canada and provincial capitals including Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver. Methodological approaches reported by the firm have combined telephone surveys, online panels, mixed‑mode approaches, and qualitative techniques such as focus groups used by institutions like McGill University and Queen's University research teams. Ekos has published cross‑tabulations, weighting schemes, and margin of error estimates in the tradition of survey research practised at centres including Pew Research Center, Gallup, and academic programmes at Carleton University. The firm has also engaged in longitudinal tracking studies comparable to projects run by the Canadian Election Study and evaluation frameworks employed by organizations such as the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.

Notable Projects and Clients

Ekos has worked with a spectrum of clients that include Canadian media outlets, political organizations, public agencies, and private-sector firms. Media collaborations have paralleled those between pollsters and broadcasters such as CBC, CTV Television Network, and Global Television Network, while political clients have included strategists associated with parties like the Bloc Québécois and municipal campaigns in cities like Ottawa and Calgary. The firm has conducted issue research on public attitudes toward policies debated in the House of Commons of Canada and provincial legislatures during crises such as the SARS outbreak and policy debates around trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement. Ekos has also supplied research for non‑governmental organizations comparable to work by groups like World Wildlife Fund Canada and think tanks including the Fraser Institute and the Institute for Research on Public Policy.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

Ekos is structured as a private research consultancy headquartered in Ottawa with staff profiles that have included senior methodologists, communications specialists, and client service directors similar to roles at firms such as Kantar Public and Ipsos Reid. Leadership and senior analysts have often been recruited from academic programmes at institutions such as the University of British Columbia, York University, and the University of Alberta, and have contributed to public discourse through appearances on platforms including The Globe and Mail, National Post, and broadcast programmes on CBC Radio. The firm has maintained collaborations with external partners, contractors, and academic advisors reflecting common practice among Canadian research firms.

Reception and Impact

Ekos’s research has been cited in national and regional coverage by outlets including The Globe and Mail, Toronto Star, La Presse, and CTV News, and has informed discussions in policy forums and legislative committees such as those convened by the Parliament of Canada. The firm’s findings have influenced media narratives during election campaigns and contributed to academic analyses in journals and conferences attended by scholars from institutions like McMaster University and University of Waterloo. Its polling has been compared with contemporaries such as Nanos, Angus Reid Institute, and Ekos Research peers in efforts to forecast electoral outcomes and public sentiment on issues like healthcare, energy policy involving Natural Resources Canada concerns, and Indigenous relations discussed in contexts with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada.

Controversies and Criticism

Like many public opinion firms, Ekos has faced scrutiny regarding sampling frames, weighting procedures, and mode effects—a debate reflected in critiques levelled at pollsters including Gallup and Pew Research Center. Academic commentators from universities such as Simon Fraser University and University of British Columbia have engaged in methodological debates about telephone versus online polling and non‑response bias, and media analysts at outlets like Canadaland and Maclean's have at times questioned polling accuracy across the industry. Particular controversies in Canadian polling have involved high‑profile misses by various firms during elections, triggering sector‑wide methodological reassessments and discussion in forums such as the Canadian Association of Public Opinion Research.

Category:Polling firms in Canada