Awareness of Trudeau’s Controversial Photos/Video Crosses South of the Border, as Majority (65%) of Americans Aware of the Scandal
Toronto, ON, September 27, 2019 — Two-thirds (65%) of Americans say that they are aware of the controversial photos and video of Justin Trudeau in brownface/blackface published by TIME and Global News, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News.
Specifically, 39% of Americans have seen the photo(s)/video, while another 26% have heard about them but haven’t personally seen them. One in three (35%) have not heard about the controversy prior to taking the poll. Older Americans (aged 55+) are more likely to have seen the images/video (76%), while those under 55 are less likely (58%) to have seen them. Men (70%) are also more likely to have seen them than women (60%).
Polling conducted by Ipsos in Canada following the release of the images revealed that, just a few days into the scandal, 9 in 10 (90%) Canadians said they had either seen or heard about the photos/video of the Prime Minister dressed in brownface and costume.
Americans Say Trudeau should Stay
In response to the photos and video being released, Justin Trudeau was quick to apologize for his actions, saying “I shouldn’t have done that” and “I should have known better, but I didn’t, and I’m really sorry”. It seems that Trudeau’s apology is not enough for 15% of Americans, believing that his behavior was inexcusable and that he should resign. This is roughly similar to public opinion in Canada shortly after the news was revealed, where 2 in 10 (20%) believed that Prime Minister Trudeau should resign as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada and not seek re-election.
Even when only considering those in the US who have either seen the images/video of Trudeau in brownface and blackface makeup or only heard about them (but not yet seen them), support for the idea that Trudeau should resign as Liberal leader and no longer seek re-election remains low: 16% agree with this statement, a sentiment that is more prevalent among men (22%) than women (10%).
On the other end of the spectrum, two-thirds (64%) of Americans who have seen or heard about the footage believe that Trudeau should remain as Liberal leader and continue on the campaign trail. Interestingly, this sentiment is more prominent among women (71%) than men (585). In addition, 2 in 10 (20%) Americans aware of the footage don’t know what he should do in the aftermath of this scandal.
These are some of the findings of Ipsos polls conducted between September 20-23 in Canada and September 25-26 and in the United States. For the September 20-23 survey, a sample of n = 1500 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online via the Ipsos I-Say panel and non-panel sources. For the September 25-26 survey, a sample of n = 1005 Americans aged 18+ was interviewed online via the same means. Respondents in both countries earned a nominal incentive for their participation. Quotas and weighting were employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe (weighting efficiency = 63.9% for the Canadian survey and 68.8% in the US survey). The precision of Ipsos polls which include non-probability sampling is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the September 20-23 survey is accurate to within ± 2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians been polled. The September 25-26 survey is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Americans been polled. In both cases, the credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. Ipsos abides by the disclosure standards established by the CRIC, found here: https://canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/standards/
© 2019, Ipsos Limited Partnership
This polling release and the data contained in it are the sole and exclusive property of Ipsos. They are NOT designed to support any election outcome or prediction model and no license to use the polling release or the data is either granted or implied by their publication. Ipsos does not endorse, and has no responsibility for the accuracy of, the result of any predictive model that incorporates this polling data. Furthermore, any use of this information to produce polling aggregations or election models without Ipsos’ written permission will be considered a violation of our intellectual property, and Ipsos reserves the right to take appropriate legal action. Detailed tabular data tables can be found here: https://ipsosintelligence.ca/canadiancontext/
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Darrell Bricker, PhD
CEO, Ipsos Global Public Affairs
416-324-2001
About Ipsos
Ipsos is the world’s third largest market research company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people. Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD). ISIN code FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP www.ipsos.com
