2022 to 2023 Fiscal Year This report provides information on public opinion research activities contracted by the government between April 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023. It informs Canadians about the volume of research studies, lists projects undertaken by departments and describes the roles of key stakeholders involved in public opinion research. Previous annual reports on public opinion research activities can be viewed on the Government of Canada Publications website.
This publication may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes only. Prior written permission must be obtained from PSPC for all other uses. For more information, please email the Public Opinion Research Directorate at: dgsiopinionpublique.isbpublicopinion@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca. © His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, 2023 Catalogue Number:
P100-3E-PDF International Standard Serial Number (ISSN):
2560-855X
In the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) awarded 164 public opinion research contracts on behalf of 34 departments to 20 suppliers at a total value of $20.3 million. This includes subscriptions to syndicated research studies shared among federal departments.
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The Government of Canada remains committed to ensuring that public policies, programs and communications are developed while taking into account the views and perspectives of Canadians.
Public opinion research is an essential tool which provides the government with valuable insights on a wide range of subjects that contribute to evidence-based decision making.
Over the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year, public opinion research activities continued to provide the government with information that helped realize its objectives and deliver on its priorities.
Considerable research was conducted to support Canada’s post-pandemic recovery and mitigation of the health, economic and social impacts of COVID-19. Among other objectives, the research was aiming to better understand Canadians’ day-to-day financial management and well-being in dealing with the COVID-19 crisis. Information was also gathered regarding vaccine behaviours and immunization coverage.
At the same time, the government undertook research to support its continued work on other health, safety and social issues.
This annual report provides information on contracted public opinion research activities the government has undertaken, and the money invested in them. The following sections provide information on all the public opinion research projects that were contracted between April 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, and about how the projects were contracted and managed.
Public opinion research is the collection of opinion-based information from the public or any target audience.
We use quantitative and qualitative methods such as surveys and focus groups to gather:
Research is conducted in a manner that respects and protects the rights of participants. To learn more, consult the Standards for conducting public opinion research.
Breakdown of research methods by number of projects:
Visually, there is a tri-coloured circle. Each colour represents a research method.
Public opinion research relies on various data collection techniques to obtain information from a wide variety of audiences. The research approaches used to reach these audiences include qualitative methodologies, quantitative methodologies or a combination of both.
It is widely used to gain insights into people’s behaviours and perceptions that can help interpret and contextualize information. With this approach, exploratory questions, such as how or why, are often used. The most commonly used qualitative techniques are focus group discussions, group interviews and individual interviews. Qualitative methodologies do not yield numeric data and the findings cannot be projected to the broader population.
It uses a more structured approach to obtain precise, objective and measurable data that can be analyzed with statistical procedures. Quantitative research aims to be more conclusive, answering questions such as what, when, and where. This approach uses techniques such as surveys, with the aim of obtaining results that reflect the broader population.
The audiences included the general population and the following groups:
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Departments contract custom research studies when there is a need to collect specific information. The custom research studies must meet a project’s scope, objectives and requirements as defined by the government through a detailed statement of work.
Suppliers that were awarded contracts for custom public opinion research delivered various services, ranging from research design to data collection, data analysis and reporting.
In 2022 to 2023, the government awarded and/or issued amendments to 155 contracts for custom public opinion research services to 19 suppliers at a total value of $19,271,091.18.
The volumes reported in the “Contract value” column represent the total value of all contracts issued in the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year, which includes any amendments that would have increased or decreased the contract values within the same period.
The negative amounts represent amendments to reduce the value of a contract that was awarded in a previous fiscal year.
The volumes reported in the “Contract value” column represent the total value of all contracts issued in the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year, which includes any amendments that would have increased or decreased the contract values within the same period.
A registration number is assigned to each study. This number can then be used to find the report on the Library and Archives Canada website.
Some of these studies may have not been completed at the time of publishing this report, but will be posted within 6 months after the completion of data collection.
The volumes reported in the “Contract value” column represent the total value of all contracts issued in the 2022 to 2023 fiscal year, which includes any amendments that would have increased or decreased the contract values within the same period.
The negative amounts represent amendments to reduce the value of a contract that was awarded in a previous fiscal year.
The Government of Canada purchases subscriptions to syndicated studies to gain access to findings from independent research which are then shared with all federal departments. These studies cover a variety of broad issues and themes. The subscription presents an economical way of obtaining information as the research costs are shared among subscribers. The intellectual property rights remain with the research firm.
In 2022 to 2023, the government subscribed to 9 syndicated public opinion research studies at a total value of $ 1,036,301.80.
| Syndicated study title | Supplier | Contract value |
|---|---|---|
| Total | $1,036,301.80 | |
There are different contracting methods for public opinion research.
A contract valued up to $40,000 can be awarded through a process called sole sourcing. This simplified approach does not require a competitive process due to a lower monetary value.
The vast majority of public opinion research contracts are issued against a standing offer. PSPC periodically conducts a rigorous and open competitive process to establish standing offers with an inventory of pre-qualified suppliers. For their individual projects, federal departments can obtain a contract with one of the pre-qualified suppliers on standing offer. Standing offers give departments timely access to suppliers with demonstrated research expertise and pre-determined pricing for projects up to a contract value of $300,000.
For public opinion research requirements falling outside the scope of the standing offer or for which the estimated contract value exceeds $300,000, an open process called public tender can be used. This means that the government posts a request for proposals on CanadaBuys to allow interested suppliers to bid for the research project. After a thorough evaluation, the supplier with the best proposal wins the contract.
PSPC supports federal departments with their public opinion research contracts by providing advisory services and overall coordination and by issuing contracts on their behalf.
To learn more on how the Government of Canada manages its contracted public opinion research or its procurement methods, see:
| Procurement methods | Number of research studies | % Contract value | Contract value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 164 | 100.0% | $20,307,392.98 |
The volume of research fluctuates from year to year depending on the government’s needs. The following table represents a summary of past research studies and contract values over the last 5 years.
| Period | Number of research studies | Contract value (in millions of dollars) |
|---|
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The following stakeholders play pivotal roles in public opinion research activities.
The standing offers enable departments to obtain public opinion research services in an efficient and effective manner with qualified research firms, at predetermined prices, terms and conditions.
Four series of public opinion research services were available in 2022 to 2023.
Departments may use this standing offer for online surveys for the following services: programming, pretesting, collecting data, tabulating data and providing pretest and end results.
Standing offer holders for series A:
Departments may use this standing offer for telephone surveys for the following services: programming, pretesting, interviewing, tabulating data and providing pretest and end results.
Standing offer holders for series B:
Departments may use this standing offer for qualitative research for the following services: developing the research design, conducting the research, analyzing, presenting and reporting the results.
Qualitative methodologies such as dyads, triads or one-on-one interviews, focus groups and bulletin board groups may be used to meet the research objectives of specific projects.
Standing offer holders for series C:
Departments may use this standing offer for quantitative research for the following services: developing the research design, conducting the research, analyzing, presenting and reporting the results.
Quantitative methodologies such as telephone or online surveys or any other methods, such as mail and in-person surveys, may be used to meet the research objectives of specific projects.
Standing offer holders for series D:
Standards for Conducting Public Opinion Research requires departments and suppliers to follow specific research standards when collecting information through public opinion research in order to produce high quality studies
This annual report provides an overview of the Government of Canada’s public opinion research activities coordinated and contracted by PSPC on behalf of federal departments listed in Schedule I, Schedule I.1 and Schedule II of the Financial Administration Act .
For more information on public opinion research activities, please visit our pages on the Government of Canada website.
If you have any comments or questions, please contact:
Public Opinion Research Directorate
Public Services and Procurement Canada
This publication may be reproduced for non-commercial purposes only. Prior written permission must be obtained from PSPC for all other uses. For more information, please email the Public Opinion Research Directorate at: dgsiopinionpublique.isbpublicopinion@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.
© His Majesty the King in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Public Works and Government Services, 2023
Catalogue Number:
P100-3E-PDF
International Standard Serial Number (ISSN):
2560-855X
