What Québec Wants

Quebeckers as activists

Wikipedia defines "activism" as intentional action to bring about social or political change. The word "activism" is often used synonymously with protest or dissent, but activism can stem from any number of political orientations and take a wide range of forms, from writing letters to newspapers or  politicians, political campaigning, economic activism (such as boycotts or preferentially patronizing preferred businesses), rallies, blogging and street marches, strikes, or even guerrilla tactics.

When you look at Quebec’s history and the great political debates that have shaped Quebec’s society, one would likely conclude that activism is “overdeveloped” in Quebec.

It isn’t so according to this data on "public activities in the past two years" from PMB 2008.

Culture, Quebeckers and Harper

Much is being said these days in the press and in viral videos about the Harper government’s cuts in the cultural sector – particularly in Quebec where “artistes” have traditionally had a strong political voice.

The latest offensive is a series of videos called “30 seconds against Harper” featuring a wide range of Quebec personalities – many of them artists.

Here’s one featuring Genevieve Brouillette, a well known actress who, coincidentally, we hired years ago when we created the first Quebec-only campaign for Winners stores in the province.

This is what she says (the translation is mine):

The Conservative government is trying to label the people of the cultural sector as beggars. There’s a study by the Conference Board of Canada – not exactly a left wing group or a bunch of dreamers – showing that 1.1 million Canadians work in the cultural sector. This generates $46 billions in revenues across the country. It represents 7.4% of the GDP. That’s nothing to sneeze at. Let’s not forget that the government funds the forestry, agriculture, automobile and aeronautics sectors. They’re not all beggars. Neither are the artists.

There are several other videos online at  www.unissonsnosvoix.ca

The message seems to be getting through, as the Bloc appears to be reclaiming lost ground in key ridings in the province. For more on the latest polls in the province and the impact of the Conservatives’ policies on culture and youth crime, read this article from today’s Globe & Mail –  Conservatives faltering in Quebec 

Quebeckers’ cultural consumption

Quebeckers are rising to defend the cultural sector but are they really such big consumers of cultural products? Less than you would think.

They can’t get enough of television, festivals and Celine Dion concerts. But their attendance at live theatre, ballet, opera, museums, art galleries, and classical concerts, is below that of Canadians in the rest of Canada. (Source: PMB 2008)

When it comes to books, 48.8% of Quebeckers bought books in the past year compared to 55.3% in the ROC.

Metro brings Quebec's love of food to Ontario.

Metro arrived in Ontario this morning. Dominion's “Fresh Obsessed”  has been replaced with Metro's "Food at its best".

Will it be “worth switching supermarkets for?” (President's Choice's  claim for some time now.) Only time will tell.

While Loblaws once promoted itself as having a “Passion for food and a whole lot more”, Metro seems to be betting that it’s all about food – the way Longo's  is an “Adventure in food”.

One in four Quebeckers connect through Facebook, MySpace, etc.

A follow-up to my previous post about online social networking in Quebec.

Ipsos-Reid recently asked Canadians:

On a typical weekday, how often do you use social networks, such as Facebook or MySpace) for social, non-business purposes?

On average, 45% of Canadians say at least once a week. Only 26% of Quebeckers use social networks at least once a week.

(Source: Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Cadbury from July 7th to July 11th, 2008)

When the price is not right.

Earlier this week, dollar discount stores operator Dollarama announced its third quarter results. It also took the opportunity to announce what Larry Rossy, Chief Executive Officer, described as “exciting new  products” to be introduced during the first quarter of 2009. And guess what? They’ll be priced between $1.00 and $2.00. The real reason: rising prices for goods imported from the Far East.

This prompted some to suggest that Dollarama may want to change its name…

Short-sizing

While Dollarama might soon be thought of as Twodollarama, consumers are increasingly witnessing the impact of another pricing strategy called short-sizing: food manufacturers reducing the size of packages but maintaining the price. See this New York Times  story on short-sizing. 

It refers to a survey conducted by Consumer Reports magazine in the U.S. in July that found that 75 percent had noticed that packages were smaller and that 71 percent believed that the main reason for the change was to hide price increases from consumers.

The same NYT piece refers to Lynn Dornblaser, a new-product expert at Mintel, who recently conducted an informal survey involving 100 products at the supermarket and found that about 10 percent had been downsized in the last 12 to 18 months. “The size of the package and the price of the package are almost secondary,” said Ms. Dornblaser of Mintel. “What becomes important is the unit price.”

Quebeckers and price sensitivity

Quebeckers are more interested in finding value-added products than Canadians in the ROC according to data from Crop’s 3SC study. What Crop calls “Elite Consumers” (those who attach more importance to differentiated products and are less price sensitive) represent 19% of Quebec’s population, compared to 13% in the rest of Canada.

Horse-race coverage

A follow-up to yesterday’s post about news media, pollsters and politics.

These are excerpts from an article by William Fox published in today’s Globe & Mail :

Mr. Dion, like many party leaders before him, is hostage to a campaign practice known as horse-race coverage.

Mr. Dion's bigger challenge in getting his message out is the polls, or more precisely media reporting of public-opinion surveys and our collective response to them.

Media analysis of public-opinion research in the campaign context of who is winning, who is losing, and how much time is left in the game has been a standard feature of political coverage since the 1940s. What has changed is the viral growth of these polls and the news stories they generate.

Poll reporting in campaigns was once a weekly phenomenon. With new media technologies, we report our reactions in real time. Mr. Dion is caught in this vortex of poll-driven expectations.

William Fox is the author of "Spin War".

News media, pollsters and election campaigns in Quebec

Quebeckers are generally more trusting of the news media than Canadians in the ROC.

Recent data from Ipsos-Reid:

55% of Canadians agree with the sentiment that ‘the news media’s primary goal is to find and broadcast the truth’ while a minority (45%) agree that ‘the news media goal is to run a business and make money’. Quebeckers (62%) are the most likely to believe that the media is in the business of finding and broadcasting the truth.

When the Government and media come into conflict because government officials claim that news reports are not accurate, most Canadians (84%) tend to side with the media. Quebeckers (88%) are the most likely to believe the news media.
(Source: Ipsos-Reid for the Canadian Journalism Foundation, May 2008)

This is consistent with data from five years ago from Leger Marketing:

62% of Canadians agree with the statement ‘Canadian media always present unbiased information about current events’ while 73% of Quebeckers are most likely to agree.
(Source: Leger Marketing, April 2002)

Quebeckers are also more likely than Canadians in the ROC to trust pollsters.

63% of Canadians say they trust pollsters. Quebeckers (78%) are the most likely to trust pollsters.
(Leger Marketing, January 2004)

That’s good news for political parties hoping to shape public opinion in Quebec via these influencers. But that’s assuming the news media provide the level of coverage you usually see during an election. 

This doesn’t see to be the case so far according to data from the information broker and aggregator  firm Influence. According to Influence, an important news item usually gets 1% of global media coverage in Quebec. It would usually be front-page news for one or two days. News that gets 5%+ is considered significant. A scandal like the Bernier-Couillard news got more than 7%... And election campaigns usually get more than 5% - but not this time or, at least, not so far. According to Influence, and as reported in Infopresse, the federal elections got 2,78% coverage this past week.

Today's front page of the Journal de Montreal. I guess it could be described as election coverage: "Jack Layton is the sexiest leader." and a politics-related story: Jean Lafleur enjoying life in Montreal post-Gomery. I wonder if Influence tracks this stuff too as election coverage...

Conservatives’ advertising tour de force in Quebec

The Conservatives’ campaign slogan in Quebec is “Le Québec prend des forces” (Quebec is gaining strength – my translation) but their television spot is more of a tour de force. (A French expression meaning an exceptional creative achievement, a particularly adroit maneuver, or a difficult feat.)

It features Harper and the familiar Quebec players (Fortier, Verner, Blackburn, Cannon, etc.) in what looks like a country home having a casual conversation over breakfast about their accomplishments since taking office.

The men are all wearing open-collar shirts. However, by the end of the spot they all walk away together magically wearing neckties. Either they were concerned about getting maple syrup on their ties (notice the big bottle of the typically Quebecois icon next to Harper’s place setting) or they all spent the night together before getting dressed for a big day back in Ottawa. I guess a sweater over a shirt and tie is a fashion faux pas.

You can view the spot on InfoPresse.

What the world is buying. What Quebec is buying.

Interesting data from Euromonitor International published in the September 7, 2008 issue of the New York Times.

How people spend their discretionary income – the cash that goes to clothing, electronics, recreation, household goods, alcohol – depends a lot on where they live. People in Greece spend almost 13 times more money on clothing as they do on electronics. People living in Japan spend more on recreation than they do on clothing, electronics and household goods combined. Americans spend a lot of money on everything.

Click here  for interactive maps on household spending around the world on clothing & footwear, electronics, alcohol & tobacco, household goods, recreation.

What Canadians are buying also depends on where they live.

Quebeckers spend proportionately more of their household income on food, health care, personal care, tobacco & alcohol, games of chance and personal income tax. (Source: Stats Can Survey of Household Expenditures)

For richer or poorer

Americans say they would need to earn an average salary of $440,000 per year to feel rich. Canadians would feel rich on $296,000. (Source: ADP Payday Poll conducted by Environics in August 2008)

The same survey also reveals that 54% of Canadians say they are now richer than their parents were at the same age. This number has declined since 2005 when 59% said so. Quebec stands out on this question: Atlantic Canadians (69%) and Albertans (68%) are the most likely to say they are richer than their parents were, while only 47% of Quebeckers say the same.

Quebeckers are most inclined to talk openly about how much they make.

The same survey reveals that 52% of Canadians are willing to tell how much they make. Quebeckers lead all other regions on this measure at 57%.

They might be more willing to openly discuss how much they make but are they telling you the truth?

A Leger Marketing poll conducted in February 2002 asked Canadians if they or their spouse ever made false declarations about their income or expenses on their income tax return. On average, 2.5% Canadians said yes. Quebeckers were most likely to say yes at 3.7%

Do they cheat more on their taxes or are they more honest about lying?