Leadnow’s 2023 Community Survey Results

• Community surveys

Over 12,000 people responded in whole or in part to the survey, of whom just shy of 9,000 completed the primary portion. We also offered respondents the choice to do an extended portion with questions about them, their media habits, and their vision for Leadnow; about 5,000 opted to complete the extended portion.

This response rate is on par with other Leadnow community surveys since the start of the pandemic.

Increasingly worried

Each year we lead by asking how Leadnow supporters feel about the state of Canada at that time. This year, nearly half of respondents answered "worried" – the highest we’ve ever seen.

Top priorities

This year, the issues that were most on people’s minds were:

• Challenging the power of the richest Canadians and redistributing their wealth
• Winning a guaranteed, livable basic income that is universally accessible;
• Challenging right-wing Premiers like Doug Ford and Danielle Smith
• Pushing for a Just Transition to a climate-safe, sustainable, and fair economy
• Working in solidarity with Indigenous communities to defend their rights and sovereignty

But those weren’t the only topics people selected. We also saw plenty of support for ending fossil fuel subsidies; campaigning for electoral reform; delivering universal public pharmacare; defending public healthcare; securing a federally guaranteed disability benefit; and working towards greater racial justice.

We also saw a lot of interest in defending old growth forests in BC, and in Ontario our community is keen to take on Ford’s attacks on public healthcare and the Greenbelt.

Federal Politics

Leadnow’s community remains ambivalent about the current government, with almost 2/3 of our supporters indicating they take a "they’re with us sometimes but need to be pushed" attitude.

Leadnow’s supporters have long spanned the partisan spectrum, and that remains true today. But partisan alignment is fluid in Leadnow; almost 70% of our community indicated they would switch votes between parties as needed, either for policy reasons (29%) or strategically (39%).

We also asked about the new Conservative leader, Pierre Poilievre. The vast majority of our supporters indicated that they believe Poilievre is more extreme than past CPC leaders, and represents a major concern.

Finally, the ongoing supply and confidence agreement between the NDP and the Liberals is overwhelmingly supported by our members.

Who is Leadnow?

We also asked our community if they wanted to share their vision for Leadnow as an organization.

Leadnow’s community feels that Leadnow is, as an organization, an effective and strategic organization, but that we should continue to innovate new tactics.

When discussing Leadnow’s purpose as an organization, respondents were asked to select from a few options, but then asked to provide an answer in their own words as well. Responses to the set question showed that defending public healthcare, empowering everyday people to engage meaningfully with democracy, working to deliver climate justice, and taking on the far-right.

When submitting in their own words, as you can imagine there were a tremendous diversity of views and perspectives – one of Leadnow’s strengths – but a few broad themes emerged, which we’ve ranked roughly in order here:

1. Educate/raise awareness/inform
2. Connect/unite progressives
3. Empower regular people/uphold democracy
4. Pressure/lobby government
5. Build movement/mobilize
6. Hold the powerful accountable
7. Alternative home to the political parties

Conclusion

First and foremost, these results showcase the strength of the Leadnow community. Thousands of people across Canada have taken the time to meaningfully engage in setting the direction of our organization. Though we come from diverse backgrounds, regions, and partisan leanings, we share core progressive values – and a commitment to getting things done. When we say democracy is our strength, we mean it.

The results also show that the Leadnow community is deeply engaged on the most challenging issues of our day: the climate crisis, the rise of the authoritarian right, the assault on public institutions, our deeply flawed and undemocratic economy, and the urgent need to defend the sovereignty of Indigenous people and deliver racial justice for those who have been shoved aside in the pursuit of endless profit.

This shows that Leadnow is tied together by a shared courage in the willingness to confront these issues head-on, and a shared optimism in our ability to overcome them. Whatever the next year holds for Leadnow, for Canada, and the world, there is no doubt that we will rise to the challenge in solidarity with each other – and that is what makes Leadnow a force to be reckoned with.