- Six in ten adults agree with restoration of Acadian and African Nova Scotian electoral districts.
April 17, 2019: Six in ten Nova Scotians believe the provincial government should restore four minority ridings, as formally recommended on Monday by the Nova Scotia Electoral Boundaries Commission.
A recent poll by Narrative Research shows that 60% of Nova Scotians agree the four districts – designed to improve representation in the Legislature for Acadian and African Nova Scotian voters – should be reinstated. Another 26% believe the districts should not be restored because of their small population size. Fourteen per cent don’t know or can’t answer the question.
The poll, conducted in February, shows that public opinion on the matter is unchanged from two years ago. In February 2017, Narrative Research (then known as Corporate Research Associates) found almost identical results among Nova Scotians on the same issue. Today, as then, results are consistent throughout the province, with a majority of Nova Scotians across geographic regions and demographic groups supporting the concept of minority ridings.
One African Nova Scotian riding and three Acadian ridings were abolished in 2012 by the province’s then-NDP government, prompting a successful court challenge by the Acadian community. This week the Electoral Boundaries Commission issued its final report, recommending the return of the four special ridings, which would boost the number of seats in the Legislature from 51 to 55.
“As the Liberal government considers its response to the Commission’s report, it should keep in mind that a significant majority of Nova Scotians support the restoration of minority ridings, and this support has remained steady over the past two years,” says Margaret Brigley, CEO of Narrative Research.
The poll results are part of Narrative Research’s Atlantic Quarterly, an independent quarterly telephone survey. The question on minority ridings was asked of 402 adult Nova Scotians, from February 4-21, 2019. Results are considered accurate to within +/- 4.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Narrative Research narrativeresearch.ca is one of Canada’s leading public opinion and market research companies. Follow us on Twitter @EveryNarrative.
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For more information, contact:
Margaret Brigley, CEO & Partner, Narrative Research at (902) 493-3830, mbrigley@narrativeresearch.ca
or
Richard Foot, Manager, Atlantic Quarterly (902) 493-3826, rfoot@narrativeresearch.ca
