Democracy 360
The Samara Centre’s Democracy 360 report cards provide a broad and ongoing assessment of the state of Canada’s democratic culture. Democracy 360 combines quantifiable indicators, focused on three areas: communication, participation, and political leadership. Instead of asking Canadians their opinions on current events, policy issues, or political personalities, the public opinion surveys underpinning this research focus on enduring indicators of democratic health and vitality: whether Canadians get involved in political decisions that affect them, whether communication channels between elected leaders and those they represent are open and being used effectively, and whether the electorate believes that MPs and political parties are capable of looking out for their interests. Democracy 360 allows Canadians to compare and assess their democracy over time. First published in 2015, the Democracy 360 was published again in 2017 and 2019 to measure improvement or decline.