A recent survey by Leger reveals that more than three-quarters of Canadians think misinformation played a role in shaping the outcome of the federal election. The poll, conducted online between April 29 and May 1 with over 1,500 adult participants, indicates that 19% of respondents felt misinformation had a significant influence, while 32% believed it had a moderate effect and 26% considered its impact to be minor. Only 9% of those surveyed said misinformation had no effect at all.
Among regions, Albertans were most convinced of misinformation’s impact, with 86% saying it influenced the election, followed by 79% in Quebec, 76% in Ontario, and 73% in British Columbia. Gender-wise, 80% of men and 74% of women believed misinformation had some level of influence.
Younger voters were more likely to believe misinformation swayed the election results — 81% of those aged 18 to 34 held this view, compared to 77% in the 35–54 group and 74% among those 55 and older. Political alignment also played a role: only 74% of Liberal voters believed misinformation had an impact, compared to 83% of Conservatives and 87% of NDP supporters.
Andrew Enns, executive vice-president at Leger, pointed to the rising discussion around foreign meddling in Canadian politics as a possible factor in this sentiment. During the election campaign, Canadian security agencies reported two separate online operations linked to China: one targeting a Conservative candidate critical of Beijing, and another aimed at Prime Minister Mark Carney.
Laurie-Anne Kempton, who advises the federal cabinet on communications, reassured voters in late April that they could trust the integrity and security of the electoral system. Still, officials warned voters to be cautious of online disinformation, especially around the election debates.
Enns added that “misinformation” is a broad term, possibly encompassing not just falsehoods, but also rumours, smear campaigns, or even negative advertising — all of which voters may interpret as misleading.
The poll also sheds light on public trust in the official election results. Around 65% of respondents expressed confidence in the results, with 36% saying they trusted them “a great deal” and 29% indicating “a lot” of trust. However, 16% trusted the results “a little” and 13% said they didn’t trust them at all.
Quebecers were the most confident, with 77% expressing trust in the results, followed by 70% in B.C., 62% in Ontario, and just 53% in Alberta. Confidence also varied by age: 72% of those over 55 trusted the outcome, compared to 61% of people aged 18 to 34 and 59% of those aged 35 to 54.
Political affiliation again revealed notable differences: 96% of Liberal voters trusted the outcome, compared to 74% of NDP supporters and just 44% of Conservatives. Enns described this partisan trust gap as an unfortunate reflection of the growing erosion of confidence in democratic institutions, possibly driven by foreign interference concerns or exposure to conspiracy narratives.
Leger did not ask similar questions following the 2021 election, but Elections Canada data provides some insight. In its National Electors Study, 52% of respondents said false information online was an issue during the 2021 vote, consistent with 2019 figures. About 10% thought falsehoods had a major influence on the 2021 results, with 20% citing a moderate impact and 18% noting a minor one. Just 2% said misinformation had no impact at all.
As for foreign interference, only 4% believed it had a major impact in 2021, 9% a moderate effect, 10% a minor role, and 1% no effect — closely mirroring opinions recorded after the 2019 election.
It’s worth noting that, as the Canadian Research Insights Council explains, online polls do not involve random sampling, meaning no margin of error can be calculated.
