2026 IPSOS Political Privacy Survey

Canadians support stronger privacy rules for federal political parties

The BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association (FIPA), the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), Centre for Digital Rights (CDR) and OpenMedia as part of work with www.voterprivacy.ca commissioned Ipsos, a leading independent market research company, to conduct a national public opinion survey on how people in Canada view federal political parties' collection and use of personal information in light of recent legislative changes.
 

The polling shows people do not trust federal political parties with their personal information and want them subject to real privacy rules, independent oversight, and individual access rights.
 

Among the organizations tested, federal political parties received the lowest level of trust to protect personal information. Just 33% of respondents expressed some level of trust in federal political parties on this issue, while 60% expressed distrust. A majority of people are aware that federal political parties collect personal information about voters and use it to target communications, but awareness drops sharply when it comes to the legal rules. Seven in ten respondents were not aware that federal political parties are not subject to the same privacy laws as many businesses and public sector organizations, and 72% were not aware that individuals do not have the same rights to access and correct information held by parties.
 

Once those issues are explained, concern is high and consistent. Roughly three-quarters of respondents said they are concerned that federal political parties can largely define their own privacy rules through party-written privacy policies, that there is no independent body responsible for handling complaints or ensuring appropriate standards are followed, and that individuals may lack meaningful rights to access, correct, or withdraw consent for the use of their information.
 

The public also expressed strong support for reform. Eight in ten respondents agree that federal political parties should follow the same privacy rules as businesses and public sector organizations. Even larger majorities support giving Canadians the right to access their personal information held by parties, request correction or deletion, require independent oversight, and impose significant penalties where personal information is misused or breached.
 

The poll asked respondents about approaches to oversight. Only 10% of Canadians supported models centered on party self-regulation, whether with or without limited Elections Canada involvement. By contrast, Canadians were far more likely to support legislated privacy requirements with independent oversight, split evenly between oversight involving the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada and a new body created specifically to oversee federal political party information practices.
 

FIPA, CCLA, CDR, and OpenMedia, are releasing these findings as part of their broader work on privacy, democratic accountability, and the regulation of federal political parties’ data practices including House of Commons petition e-7237.
 

Highlights of the results are set out below, followed by detailed tables.
 

• You can read the full factum on the IPSOS website, including the data tables.
   

Canadians care about their political privacy. This polling research shows that the status quo is unacceptable. If you want to join us in pushing for change, you can sign House of Commons petition e-7237, on Information and Privacy, plus you can share the petition and this post with others who share your commitments to privacy and participatory democracy.
 

The petition calls on the House of Commons to impose enforceable and effective privacy obligations on political parties and to oppose or repeal any changes to the Canada Elections Act that would exempt political parties from privacy obligations. This would include repealing Bill C-4, recently pushed through both houses of Parliament and now law.
 

The official petition calls “upon the House of Commons to oppose or repeal any changes to the Canada Elections Act, during the 45th Parliament, that have the effect of exempting political parties from privacy obligations that they are or were subject to; and impose enforceable privacy obligations equivalent to widely accepted Canadian fair information principles, including meaningful rights of access and independent oversight, prior to the next federal general election.”