Shifting Opinions: Perceptions of Discrimination in Alberta Society

Angelia Wagner | University of Alberta | angelia@ualberta.ca 

Daniel Beland | McGill Institute for the Study of Canada | daniel.beland@mcgill.ca 

Adam Gaudry | University of Alberta | adam.gaudry@ualberta.ca 

Feodor Snagovsky | University of Alberta | feodor.snagovsky@ualberta.ca  

December 3, 2020

Introduction 

This Research Brief draws upon two Viewpoint Alberta surveys to understand how Albertans perceive inequality in the province and how these attitudes might have changed over time. While racial discrimination is currently at the top of the public agenda, we asked Albertans for their views about the level of inequality faced by a range of social groups including transgender people, gays and lesbians, Muslims, immigrants, women, Christians, White people, and men. Overall, we found that many more Albertans expressed awareness of social inequality in August 2020 than did in November 2019. Respondents’ attitudes differed by partisanship: NDP supporters were much more likely than UCP supporters to note that Indigenous and Black people experience a lot or a great deal of discrimination. While both partisan groups experienced a shift in opinion between the two surveys, UCP supporters showed a greater degree of change from 2019 to 2020 than did NDP supporters, who already showed a high degree of belief that some social groups experience a tremendous amount of discrimination. 

Context 

The Black Lives Matter movement first arose in the aftermath of the 2013 acquittal of a neighbourhood watch volunteer in the shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. While supporters have protested police brutality and racially-motivated violence against Black people since then, Black Lives Matter experienced new heights of public support and activism earlier this year after several African-Americans were killed by police officers across the United States. One of the most famous cases was the May 25, 2020, death of George Floyd, who was killed during an arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The deaths of other African-Americans at the hands of police in subsequent months only intensified calls to address anti-Black racism. In Canada, anti-racist activism has also focused on anti-Indigenous racism and Black Lives Matter itself actively supports the Indigenous cause. Like the Black Civil Rights movement, Indigenous activism has a long history. This includes the Idle No More movement, which began in 2012 in response to the Canadian government’s efforts to dismantle environmental laws and has since expanded to address other Indigenous concerns. 

Perceptions of Racial Discrimination in Alberta

Ongoing Indigenous activism and the Black Lives Matter movement, which are closely related today, appear to have had an impact on Albertans’ perceptions of discrimination in the province. As Figure 1 shows, more than half (50.8%) of respondents to the August 2020 survey agreed that Indigenous people face a lot or a great deal of discrimination in the province compared to one-third of respondents (38.9%) who said the same in the November 2019 survey, an increase of 12 percentage points. 

Albertans were far more aware of anti-Indigenous racism than they were of any other kind of discrimination. In both the 2019 and 2020 surveys, respondents were much more likely to note discrimination against Indigenous people than against Black people, immigrants, Muslims, women, and gays and lesbians. Rankings for each social group generally remained the same across the two surveys even as overall perceptions of discrimination increased. In November 2019, Albertans were more likely to note a lot or a great deal of discrimination against Indigenous people (38.9%), followed by Muslims (38.5%), transgender people (37.9%), immigrants (35.7%), gays and lesbians (30.5%), and Black people (23.7%). The rankings for Muslims, immigrants, and transgender people changed by the second survey. In August 2020, Alberta reported being more aware of discrimination against Indigenous people (50.8%), transgender people (42.6%), immigrants (41.7%), Muslims (41.2%), gays and lesbians (36.3%), and Black people (35.7%). 

Although fewer Albertans perceived anti-Black racism rather than anti-Indigenous racism in the province, Figure 1 suggests that the Black Lives Matter movement has had a modest impact on public attitudes toward racial discrimination against Black people in Alberta. One-third of respondents (35.7%) in August 2020 believed Black people face a lot or a great deal of discrimination in the province compared to one-quarter (23.7%) who said so in November 2019, an increase of 12 percentage points. By way of comparison, little change was detected in public perception of anti-White racism between the two surveys: from 13.2% in 2019 down to 12.4% in 2020. 

The degree to which respondents perceived racism in Alberta today partly depended upon their partisanship. Figure 2 depicts how NDP, UCP, and other partisans as well as non-partisans perceived anti-Indigenous racism in November 2019 and August 2020. NDP supporters were far more likely than any other partisan group and non-partisans to believe Indigenous people face discrimination, and this pattern held even when we compare results from the two surveys. In November 2019, almost two-thirds (61.8%) of NDP supporters indicated that Indigenous people experience a lot or a great deal of discrimination compared to around one-quarter (25.4%) of UCP supporters. Almost half (49.4%) of other partisans and close to one-third (33.4%) of non-partisans expressed similar sentiments. Moreover, NDP supporters (33.1%) were almost four times more likely than UCP supporters (8.4%) to believe Indigenous people experience a great deal of discrimination. 

Nine months later, in August 2020, partisans and non-partisans alike were more likely to agree that Indigenous people face discrimination. Almost three-quarters of NDP supporters (73%) indicated that Indigenous people experience a lot or a great deal of discrimination compared to around one-third (39.9%) of UCP supporters, more than one-half (54.7%) of other partisans, and close to one-half (46.8%) of non-partisans. UCP respondents (12.7%) to the second survey were more likely in 2020 than in 2019 to agree that Indigenous people experience a great deal of discrimination, but they were still dwarfed in number by NDP supporters (42.3%). 

As Figure 3 shows, a similar partisan pattern emerges when we examine Albertans’ perceptions of anti-Black racism in the province. Once again, in August 2020, NDP supporters (58.1%) were more likely than other partisans and non-partisans to assert that Black people experience a lot or a great deal of discrimination, an increase of almost 19 percentage points over the November 2019 result, when one-third (39.4%) of NDP supporters expressed the same view. Only one in five UCP supporters (20.6%) believed a lot or a great deal of anti-Black racism exists in Alberta in August 2020, an increase of six percentage points over the November 2019 result of 14.3%. Interestingly, the gap between the percentage of NDP and UCP supporters who insisted that Black people experience a great deal of discrimination increased between November 2019 and August 2020: the UCP result barely moved, from 4.7% in 2019 to 4.9% in 2020 while the NDP result climbed from 15% to 20.6%. Other partisans and non-partisans fell between NDP and UCP supporters in their perceptions of anti-Black racism in the province in both surveys. 

Perceptions of Religious Discrimination in Alberta 

Provincial perceptions of racism should be seen within a larger social context in which Albertans are becoming increasing aware of discrimination more broadly. As Figure 4 shows, two in five respondents (41.2%) believed Muslims experience a lot or a great deal of discrimination in Alberta in August 2020, compared to one-third of respondents (38.5%) who said the same thing in November 2019. By way of contrast, only 12.5% of respondents in 2019 and 10.8% of respondents in 2020 argued this was the case for Christians. 

The partisan pattern observed in perceptions of anti-Indigenous and anti-Black racism in Alberta repeats itself in public attitudes toward anti-Muslim discrimination. As Figure 5 shows, NDP supporters (57.6%) were more likely than UCP supporters (28.4%), other partisans (51.9%), and non-partisans (37.2%) to note the existence of a lot or a great deal of Islamophobia in Alberta in August 2020. Interestingly, NDP and UCP supporters changed little in their views between the two surveys. The NDP results experienced a tiny drop, from 58.8% in 2019 to 57.6% in 2020, in agreeing that there was a lot or a great deal of discrimination against Muslims. UCP supporters’ overall agreement rose slightly from 28.2% in 2019 to 28.4% in 2020. Only non-partisans and other partisans showed a strong shift in agreement between the two surveys: other partisans went from 46.2% to 51.9% while non-partisans rose from 31.8% to 37.2%. 

By way of contrast, UCP supporters were more likely than their NDP counterparts in both surveys to assert that Christians also face religious discrimination. What is interesting, though, is that the UCP result dropped between November 2019 (16.1%) and August 2020 (12%) while the NDP result rose (from 6.2% to 8.1%) (results not shown). 

Perceptions of Gender and Sexual Discrimination in Alberta 

Figure 6 shows that respondents believed transgender people experience strong discrimination in Alberta. Two-fifths of Albertans (42.6%) responded in August 2020 that transgender people experience a lot or a great deal of discrimination, an increase of almost five percentage points from November 2019. While somewhat lower, one-third of 2020 respondents (36.3%) believed gays and lesbians face a considerable amount of homophobia in the province, an increase of almost six percentage points from 2019. 

In August 2020, only one-quarter of Albertans (26.2%) believed women face sexism, though this was almost 17 percentage points higher than those who believed men face sexism (9.5%). While sexism was perceived to be less pervasive than transphobia, Albertans still expressed greater awareness of sexism against women in August 2020 (26.2%) than did in November 2019 (21.9%). The opposite was true for men. A smaller percentage of Albertans claimed in 2020 that men experience sexism (9.5%) than did in 2019 (11.8%). 

Partisanship continues to divide Albertans on the issue of gender and sexual discrimination. Figure 7 shows that, in November 2019, two-thirds (60.6%) of NDP supporters insisted that transgender people experience strong discrimination in Alberta compared to one-quarter (26.9%) of UCP supporters. More specifically, NDP supporters (35%) were three times more likely than UCP supporters (10.5%) to perceive a great deal of transphobia in Alberta society. As before, other partisans and non-partisans fell between the NDP and UCP in their perceptions. 

Despite these partisan differences, all groups except NDP supporters showed an increase in perceptions of transphobia in the nine months between the two surveys. In August 2020, one-third (33.5%) of UCP supporters believed that transgender individuals experience a lot or a great deal of discrimination in Alberta, an increase of almost seven percentage points from the 2019 result. Non-partisans experienced a larger increase between the two surveys, going from 29.6% in 2019 to 36.5% in 2020. Other partisans saw a modest jump of three percentage points, rising to 49.7% in 2020 from 46.5% in 2019. The NDP figure held steady at 60.6%. 

While fewer Albertans believed gays and lesbians face homophobia compared to other groups, NDP supporters were more likely to agree compared to UCP supporters, other partisans, and non-partisans in both surveys. In August 2020, half of NDP partisans (51.8%) believed gays and lesbians experience a lot or a great deal of discrimination compared to one-quarter (25.9%) of UCP partisans. The partisan difference is even more stark when we examine public perceptions of extreme discrimination: NDP partisans (26.3%) were almost four times more likely than UCP partisans (7.1%) to assert that gays and lesbians experience a great deal of homophobia in Alberta society. 

Interestingly, NDP perceptions of homophobia actually declined slightly between 2019 and 2020. Two percentage points fewer NDP supporters (53.8%) insisted in November 2019 that gays and lesbians faced a lot or a great deal of discrimination than did in August 2020. Other partisans and non-partisans exhibited an increase in awareness of homophobia. The UCP figure went from 21.7% in 2019 to 25.9% in 2020, a four-percentage point increase. Results for the non-partisans saw a similar increase, going from 27.4% to 32.6%. Supporters of other provincial political parties showed a much larger increase, jumping from 28.6% to 44.8%. 

Summary 

Public perceptions of inequality in Alberta society have increased over the last year and are shaped in part by partisanship. Albertans are more aware of racism, Islamophobia, transphobia, homophobia, and sexism today than they were a year ago, but the specific degree to which they see discrimination as an issue varies according to their partisanship. NDP supporters are much more likely than UCP supporters to perceive discrimination in Alberta, though UCP supporters showed some movement in that direction between November 2019 and August 2020. While we cannot conclusively determine if Indigenous activism, Black Lives Matter, and other social movements were responsible for this shift, the fact that public perceptions changed after a summer of intense anti-racism activism points toward this possibility. 

Methodology of the Viewpoint Alberta Survey

The 2020 Viewpoint Alberta Survey was conducted between August 17 and 30, 2020. The survey was deployed online by the Social Sciences Research Laboratories (SSRL). A copy of the survey questions can be found here: https://bit.ly/35rtU9F. SSRL co-ordinates the survey with an online panel system that targets registered panelists that meet the demographic criteria for the survey. Survey data is based on 825 responses with a 17-minute average completion time. 

The 2019 Viewpoint Alberta Survey was conducted between October 22 and November 21, 2019. The survey was deployed online by Qualtrics. A copy of the survey questions can be found here: https://bit.ly/2PvQV2C. Qualtrics coordinates the survey with an online panel system that targets registered panelists who meet the demographic criteria for the survey. Survey data are based on 820 total responses (number varies across questions) with a 17-minute average completion time. 

The Viewpoint Alberta Survey was led by co-principal investigators Loleen Berdahl, Elaine Hyshka, and Jared Wesley. It was funded in part by an Alberta-Saskatchewan Research Collaboration Grant from the Kule Institute for Advanced Study at the University of Alberta and the College of Arts and Science at the University of Saskatchewan.