Monday, March 25, 2013

Is BC Liberal voter identification campaign on in Vancouver-Point Grey? Toronto firm Logit calling - here are all their questions

Are BC Liberals doing voter identification and polling in Vancouver-Point Grey riding through Toronto firm Logit?  Here are the questions being asked:

Who is Logit calling for in Vancouver-Point Grey riding?
A Toronto "telephone data collection" firm called Logit is calling extensively in Vancouver-Point Grey riding and I have all the questions being asked.

The likelihood is that they are working for the BC Liberal Party but Logit has not yet responded to my inquiries.  

It is possible that this is polling done by someone or as an Omnibus poll but who would poll in Vancouver-Point Grey other than a political party - and I have spoken to other people in the riding who have also been called.  

A poll in the riding would only need 300 respondents to be a decent sample so the odds are that it is voter identification used to determine campaign messaging and get out the vote efforts in the election.

Neither the NDP nor BC Conservatives are doing the calling.

I previously reported in January in 24 Hours newspaper and The Tyee on a province-wide "robo call" effort by another firm called Probit, a division of Ekos Research, that appeared to be doing voter identification also by calling every voter in BC!

And in the Vancouver-Point Grey by-election in 2011 I was also called and able to figure out what was going on.

I received a call from a live phoner saying they were with "University Research" on Wednesday March 20 from telephone number 1-416-640-3489.

That phone number is associated with Logit.

I know this because exactly the same number called me againThursday March 21 at 7:43 p.m. - as above - but this time on behalf of the Insurance Corporation of BC [ICBC] doing a customer satisfaction survey.

The Vancouver-Point Grey questions included:

Is British Columbia on the right track or wrong track?

Who would you vote for in the provincial election in Vancouver-Point Grey?

All major party candidates were listed, including BC Liberal Premier Christy Clark - it's her riding; BC NDP candidate David Eby - but Eby's name was mispronounced by the Toronto caller!,  BC Conservative candidate Duane Nickull and BC Greens candidate Francoise Raunet

Then I was asked what was the most important issue facing BC.

Next I was asked to rank the importance of 6 issues:  the economy; education; crime; healthcare; transit; and reducing oil tanker traffic in Burrard Inlet.

Then I was asked 6 more questions on whether I would be more likely or less likely to vote for any of the candidates if they supported these positions:


Selling the Jericho Lands [no explanantion given but presumably the federal armed forces base and related property] to improve infrastructure elsewhere.

Building a rapid transit line down Broadway.


Taking a strong stand against the federal government's closure of the Kitsilano Coast Guard Station.


Supporting a ban on more tankers in Burrard Inlet.


Blocking traffic on parts of Cornwall Avenue.


And which form of transit I believed should be built on Broadway:


A light rail line on the surface of Broadway - which the phoner said would take up some existing traffic lanes;


An underground bored subway tunnel, which the phoner said was more expensive than the other alternatives but less disruptive; or


A "cut and cover" tunnel [like the disastrous one done for the Canada Line on Cambie that drove small merchants out of business!], which the phoner said was cheaper but more disruptive.



Lastly I was asked age and education demographic questions.

All very interesting - especially the Jericho Lands question and the Broadway transit options.

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4 comments:

David Gibson said...

Bill: when the BC Government uses the phrase "the Jericho Lands", it refers to the huge parcel of park-like lands between West 4th and West 8th Avenues, immediately west of the Jericho Army Base.

It formerly contained the School for the Deaf and the Justice Institute. It currently contains two schools.

The government attempted to sell it for housing in the l990s, but surrendered to a wave of public pressure.

IMHO, it should remain with very limited public uses; a new pool or gym, for example.

Anonymous said...

So why the panic and tearing the hair out? These types of phone polls are done by both parties, including the NDP. I got quite a few of them at home (I live in an NDP riding).

Im suprised Bill as a "communications consultant" would be in a panic and make a big deal out this.

Is the NDP using out of province resources for their own polling for the election? I am sure they will be, if not it could either be Now Communications or someone else locally.

stuart said...

Reply to Anonymous..So why the panic and tearing the hair out?
The headline is sensationalist a bit, not fitting the story's import - the rest is good reporting. And, a question: what hair??

Anonymous said...

What good reporting? About voter polling over the telephone? Big deal That goes back to the days of when political candidates started kissing babies in the shopping mall.

The NDP will be doing it too.

Be near a telephone to answer it when they do.

and yes vote for them on election day.

When the NDP wins, it will end the on and on and on commentary about the BC Liberals.