Hypothetically, Decima Research Is A Biased Pollster

Showing their true Liberal colours, Decima Research ran a poll which presented people with a HYPOTHETICAL situation as follows:

Decima Research asked people to choose between two hypothetical election promises – a $1,000 Conservative tax break for every household and a $1,000 Liberal break limited to households that took pro-environment action.

Fifty-one per cent of respondents said they would prefer the Liberal promise versus 28 per cent who preferred the Conservative pledge, say the survey results provided to The Canadian Press. Twenty-one per cent were unsure.

So the campaign promises were hypothetical, yet Decima chose the Liberals and the Conservatives and portrayed the Liberals as environmentally friendly. Why would they not choose the Green Party and the Liberals in this scenario with the Green Party being the one with the pro-environment tax break condition?

To make things worse, even if the two options were apolitical, the pro-environment tax break combination is far more appealing to anyone, not just those interested in the environment making it the easy choice for most. In fact, I am surprised that the results were not much higher for the pro-environment choice which means that half of respondents either did not like the plan or were not willing to answer. This is actually quite dramatic when you think about it.

How about we try this one. Choose between these two hypothetical campaign promises. a) The Liberal plan to offer a $1000 tax break per household or b) the Conservative plan to offer a $1000 tax break to households that take a pro-safety stance by joining their neighbourhood watch?

I think we know which option would win out there.

“I think what we’re seeing here is a signal that’s really about what kind of policies people want,” Decima CEO Bruce Anderson said in an interview.

“While they appreciate the idea of tax cuts they also appreciate that policy should be increasingly directed towards achieving environmental improvement. That’s what that 51 per cent are telling us they think.”

I think Bruce Anderson needs to revisit his polling skills if he thinks this poll was by any means fair or determinate of people’s feelings about the situation.

Aside from the claims Decima Research makes, I can safely say that this poll does give one clear indication. And that would be that Decima Research is clearly a biased pollster.

H/T to Political Staples