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ABC News
02-05-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
Vote Compass helps Australians see where they stand on the political spectrum. Here's what the data shows
In the quick-shifting world of politics it can be difficult to figure out where you sit on the political spectrum — left, right or centre, but the ABC's Vote Compass is here to help. After five weeks of campaigning, commitments, debates and discussion from politicians, we need to cast our ballot tomorrow. But which party stands where? ABC Vote Compass helps visualise how your views on social and economic issues align with politicians and provides information about the candidates in your electorate. More than 1.2 million people have used the tool this in election cycle. It generally takes about 10 minutes to fill out the 30-question survey. Vote Compass has been designed by political scientists at Canada-based Vox Pop Labs to help improve electoral awareness and start important conversations about public policy. It makes it easy to compare your views, not just to the major parties, but to your friends and family, and start discussions about the big issues this election. Election essentials: Find out where your What does your Vote Compass result mean? On your results page, you'll see two graphs. One is a plot on a two-dimensional graph that calculates your alignment on a social and economic scale. Here's how to think about what the "compass" means: If you're higher on the chart, your views on the included issues are more socially progressive. If you're lower, then you're more socially conservative If you're on the left side, you're more aligned with the economic "left", while if you're on the right, you're on the economic "right" Vote Compass uses your answers to calculate your alignment on a social and economic scale. ( ABC News ) The other plot will show the extent of your agreement and disagreement with the parties and candidates on the policy issues included in Vote Compass. You can weight your results based on which issues you rank as more or less important. Further down, you can explore how your answers compare question by question. Click on the party or candidate to see an explanation of their position. If you've identified your electorate, you'll be shown a list of the candidates campaigning for your vote, as well as a link to Vox Pop Labs founder Clifton van der Linden says the idea behind Vote Compass is to help people understand how they align with political parties on public policy. "It is simply meant to help Australians have a sense that they are well-informed about the broad range of policy issues that are salient in this campaign and about the positions that the parties hold on those issues," he says. Dr van der Linden says Vote Compass doesn't tell you how to vote or who to vote for, nor does it try to predict how people will vote. Read more about the federal election: Want even more? Here's where you can find all our 2025 Catch the latest interviews and in-depth coverage on Cost of living rises to the top, housing dream harder to achieve The responses to Vote Compass also provide an insight into attitudes on issues. The cost of living came out on top as the most important issue for Vote Compass respondents, followed by the economy and finance and government operations. The cost of living was also highlighted as a About 45 per cent of Vote Compass respondents say they are finding it difficult to cope on their current income. Vote Compass data shows 90 per cent of respondents think it is more difficult for young Australians to buy a house today than it was for previous generations. This follows In regards to solutions to the housing crisis, Vote Compass data shows 62.7 per cent of respondents said there should be more government intervention. Almost 50 per cent of respondents agree there should be fewer tax breaks on investment properties while about 27 per cent disagree. However, the data shows respondents are split on whether there should be other changes to tax policies. About 43 per cent of respondents do not think the government should change its tax policies to discourage people from using housing as an investment while 36 per cent are in favour of changes. This finding is from a weighted sample of 124,988 respondents. Amid the housing crisis, migration levels have been a talking point during the campaign, but experts say migration is a small part of the puzzle. The data shows roughly 49 per cent of about 340,000 respondents want "many fewer" or "somewhat fewer" That's a significant change from 2022's Vote Compass results, in which 49 per cent of respondents said Australia should welcome "somewhat more" or "many more" immigrants. Nuclear, young voters and the US factor The ABC has been reporting on findings from Vote Compass findings throughout the campaign. About 47 per cent of respondents said they strongly disagreed or somewhat disagreed Vote Compass data suggests there has been a shift in views since the last election. This year 36 per cent of respondents told Vote Compass much more should be done to reduce Australia's carbon emissions. That figure is down from 2022 when 61 per cent of participants said much more should be done. This year gen Z and millennials will make up the largest voting bloc for the first time. According to Vote Compass responses, the The data shows 67 per cent of generation Z women identified as left or moderately left, compared to 52 per cent of women from other generations. US President Donald Trump's tariffs announcement has meant the United States has featured throughout the campaign. About 47 per cent of Vote Compass respondents believe The Lowy Institute recently found Australians' trust in the US had dropped since Mr Trump's return to the White House, but Australians still About Vote Compass data Vote Compass is an educational tool designed to promote electoral literacy and civic engagement. While not a conventional public opinion poll, Vote Compass responses can be analysed using statistical methods similar to those used in polling to try to adjust for sampling bias. Responses have been weighted by gender, age, education, language, religion, place of residence and past vote to account for the selection effects of the sample, Loading Having trouble seeing this form? Try
Ottawa Citizen
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Chris Selley: CBC's Vote Compass will only get you lost in the wilderness, again
CBC's Vote Compass is back for the federal election, promising to 'help you explore how your views compare with those of the parties,' and it's just as silly as in its many previous iterations. More than 1.2 million people have taken the survey, the website claims, and I'm sorry to say none will have emerged any better informed than when they started — which some might argue goes against the public broadcaster's basic news mandate. It's not so much torqued toward one party or another as it is incoherent. Article content Article content My favourite question this time around asks Canadians whether they believe 'the federal budget deficit should be reduced, even if it leads to fewer public services.' Strongly agree? Strongly disagree? Somewhere in between? Article content If you're thinking you've never heard a mainstream politician support fewer public services, you are correct. The designers of this survey have simply inferred that cuts to the federal budget would lead to fewer public services. This is evidenced by the documentation provided to justify where the Vote Compass, a CBC co-production with Toronto's Vox Pop Labs, places each party on the agree-or-disagree spectrum. Article content 'A new Conservative government will bring common sense back to the budget. We'll end waste, cap spending, and review all government spending to demand real results for every tax dollar,' the Conservative platform promises. 'We will shrink the Liberal deficits and eliminate waste by enacting a one-for-one spending law. Any new spending must be offset by reduced or new revenues.' Article content Article content You will notice that there's nothing in there about social services. Nevertheless, to Vote Compass, that counts as a 'strongly agree' to the question of cutting budgets even if it impacts social services. Article content Article content Perhaps even more absurdly, the Liberals get a 'somewhat agree' to the same question based on the following passage from their party platform: 'A Mark Carney-led government will balance the operating budget in three years, ensuring responsible financial management while making wise, long-term investments to build for Canada's prosperity and future. … We will also adopt a fiscal rule to ensure that government dept-to-GDP declines over the budget horizon.' Article content When pollsters ask questions like these, we call them 'push polls' — questions designed to elicit a certain result, often by compromising relatively simple questions with poison pills like 'even if it leads to fewer public services.' The public broadcaster should be trying to clarify that, not add to it.
National Post
25-04-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Chris Selley: CBC's Vote Compass will only get you lost in the wilderness, again
Article content CBC's Vote Compass is back for the federal election, promising to 'help you explore how your views compare with those of the parties,' and it's just as silly as in its many previous iterations. More than 1.2 million people have taken the survey, the website claims, and I'm sorry to say none will have emerged any better informed than when they started — which some might argue goes against the public broadcaster's basic news mandate. It's not so much torqued toward one party or another as it is incoherent. Article content Article content My favourite question this time around asks Canadians whether they believe 'the federal budget deficit should be reduced, even if it leads to fewer public services.' Strongly agree? Strongly disagree? Somewhere in between? Article content Article content If you're thinking you've never heard a mainstream politician support fewer public services, you are correct. The designers of this survey have simply inferred that cuts to the federal budget would lead to fewer public services. This is evidenced by the documentation provided to justify where the Vote Compass, a CBC co-production with Toronto's Vox Pop Labs, places each party on the agree-or-disagree spectrum. Article content 'A new Conservative government will bring common sense back to the budget. We'll end waste, cap spending, and review all government spending to demand real results for every tax dollar,' the Conservative platform promises. 'We will shrink the Liberal deficits and eliminate waste by enacting a one-for-one spending law. Any new spending must be offset by reduced or new revenues.' Article content You will notice that there's nothing in there about social services. Nevertheless, to Vote Compass, that counts as a 'strongly agree' to the question of cutting budgets even if it impacts social services. Article content Perhaps even more absurdly, the Liberals get a 'somewhat agree' to the same question based on the following passage from their party platform: 'A Mark Carney-led government will balance the operating budget in three years, ensuring responsible financial management while making wise, long-term investments to build for Canada's prosperity and future. … We will also adopt a fiscal rule to ensure that government dept-to-GDP declines over the budget horizon.' Article content Article content Two of the 30 questions the compass asks Canadians pertain to transgender rights, which are not even remotely an issue in this election campaign, and which are scarcely mentioned in the two leading parties' platforms.
Calgary Herald
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Calgary Herald
Chris Selley: CBC's Vote Compass will only get you lost in the wilderness, again
Article content CBC's Vote Compass is back for the federal election, promising to 'help you explore how your views compare with those of the parties,' and it's just as silly as in its many previous iterations. More than 1.2 million people have taken the survey, the website claims, and I'm sorry to say none will have emerged any better informed than when they started — which some might argue goes against the public broadcaster's basic news mandate. It's not so much torqued toward one party or another as it is incoherent. Article content Article content My favourite question this time around asks Canadians whether they believe 'the federal budget deficit should be reduced, even if it leads to fewer public services.' Strongly agree? Strongly disagree? Somewhere in between? Article content Article content If you're thinking you've never heard a mainstream politician support fewer public services, you are correct. The designers of this survey have simply inferred that cuts to the federal budget would lead to fewer public services. This is evidenced by the documentation provided to justify where the Vote Compass, a CBC co-production with Toronto's Vox Pop Labs, places each party on the agree-or-disagree spectrum. Article content 'A new Conservative government will bring common sense back to the budget. We'll end waste, cap spending, and review all government spending to demand real results for every tax dollar,' the Conservative platform promises. 'We will shrink the Liberal deficits and eliminate waste by enacting a one-for-one spending law. Any new spending must be offset by reduced or new revenues.' Article content Article content You will notice that there's nothing in there about social services. Nevertheless, to Vote Compass, that counts as a 'strongly agree' to the question of cutting budgets even if it impacts social services. Article content Article content Perhaps even more absurdly, the Liberals get a 'somewhat agree' to the same question based on the following passage from their party platform: 'A Mark Carney-led government will balance the operating budget in three years, ensuring responsible financial management while making wise, long-term investments to build for Canada's prosperity and future. … We will also adopt a fiscal rule to ensure that government dept-to-GDP declines over the budget horizon.' Article content When pollsters ask questions like these, we call them 'push polls' — questions designed to elicit a certain result, often by compromising relatively simple questions with poison pills like 'even if it leads to fewer public services.' The public broadcaster should be trying to clarify that, not add to it.
CBC
12-04-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Environmental issues taking a backseat this election, Vote Compass data shows
Environmental issues have slid way down the list of Canadians' concerns in this federal election compared to the last campaign, according to data from Vote Compass. When asked "What issue is the most important to you in this election?" survey respondents most frequently said Canada-U.S. relations were their top concern. Environmental issues didn't crack the top five. "The issue landscape is very different from the 2021 election, when the environment was the leading concern for the largest share of Canadians," according to the Vote Compass analysis. The findings are based on more than 161,000 people who participated in the Vote Compass survey from March 25 to April 3. In 2021, 24 per cent named the environment as their most important issue. But in this campaign, the environment is eighth on the list, at about five per cent. President Donald Trump's tariffs on Canadian goods and threats of annexation have instead dominated much of the 2025 election campaign, with 29 per cent of respondents identifying the Canada-U.S. issue as their primary concern. Liberal voters are especially concerned about relations with the U.S., with 46 per cent choosing it as their most important issue. For Conservative voters, the economy is the top concern, with 36 per cent choosing it as their key issue. Economic issues were next on the list, identified as a top concern by 24 per cent of the general population. The cost of living, social justice and health care round out the top five. The proportion of Canadians citing immigration as their top concern is up to four per cent in 2025 from one per cent in 2021, according to Vote Compass. Fewer people said health care was their most important issue (down to six per cent from 12 per cent). Vote Compass is an initiative of Vox Pop Labs, an independent, non-partisan social enterprise founded and operated by academics. The application surveys users about their political views and then calculates their alignment with the parties and candidates running for election. On Friday, 128 municipal politicians wrote an open letter to the five main federal party leaders calling for action on climate change "because later is too late." The group wants the next federal government to build a national electric grid that includes the North, move ahead with a high-speed rail network, make homes and buildings more energy efficient, build two million non-market "green homes," and fund a "national resilience, response and recovery strategy." Unlike online opinion polls, respondents to Vote Compass are not pre-selected. Similar to many public opinion polls, however, the data is an online non-probability sample that's been weighted to approximate a demographically representative sample. Vote Compass data has been weighted by gender, age, education, region, language spoken in the home, and partisanship (past federal vote) to ensure the sample composition reflects that of the voting-eligible population of Canada according to census data and electoral data. All results are subject to uncertainty (or error). Because Vote Compass data is derived from a non-probability sample, Vox Pop Labs does not have a traditional margin of error. Instead, it reports a modeled error estimate that is intended to approximate a margin of sampling error, in this case of +/- 0.5%.
