Survey results: - Victims of Communism – Canada, a Land of Refuge

The Memorial to the Victims of Communism Online Survey was conducted between February 2 and 16, 2016. The online survey was posted on the Department of Canadian Heritage's (PCH) Website. The survey Internet address was widely circulated by the media and on social media. A total of 8,547 Canadians answered at least part of the survey. Responses that could not be confirmed to originate from Canada were deemed invalid and were deleted.

The results of this survey should not be interpreted as representative of the entire Canadian population as they are only representative of the respondents that volunteered to provide their opinions.

A number of questions in the survey allowed respondents to select more than one response. In these cases, the resulting percentages do not add up to 100% because they are based on the percent of respondents and not the percent of responses.

Question 1. The “Canada, a Land of Refuge” theme encompasses several objectives. Please identify which objectives you think are most important. You can select up to two of the objectives listed below:

	Frequency	Percent of Respondents
Recognize the experience of Canadians who emigrated from communist countries and celebrate their contributions to Canada.	2473	35.7%
Commemorate the millions of people worldwide who lost their lives and suffered under communist tyranny.	1557	22.5%
Remind visitors about core Canadian values of freedom, democracy and human rights.	4957	71.6%
Create awareness of the reality of life under communist regimes.	902	13.0%
Total	9889

Question 2. Please identify which of these visitor experiences of the Memorial you think are most important. You can select up to two of the statements below:

	Frequency	Percent of Respondents
As a gathering space for a commemorative event or ceremony.	1179	17.5%
As a place for reflection and contemplation.	3467	51.6%
As a catalyst that prompts discussion and inspires visitors of all ages to learn more about the past.	2915	43.4%
As a landmark that enhances the visitor’s perception of the Capital.	1400	20.8%
As a place of repose for the public in the downtown core.	1961	29.2%
Total	10922

Question 3. Please indicate your preferred approach for the Memorial, given the proposed location and theme. You can select one of the statements below

	Frequency	Percent
An impressive monument set in an open space that reflects the scope of the millions affected by communism worldwide.	1024	15.7%
A human-scaled monument set in an intimate environment that allows visitors to connect to the tragedies at a personal level.	3419	52.5%
An ensemble of individual components that encourages interaction with the monument as visitors explore the site.	2073	31.8%
Total Valid	6516
No Answer	2031
Total	8547

From the 8547 valid responses received, 6530 contained a response to "Do you have any thoughts or ideas concerning the design of the Memorial to the Victims of Communism?” (Question 4).

To efficiently analyze the results of this question, the Department of Canadian Heritage drew a random sample of 504 responses (Question 4) from the population of 6530 responses. Based on a 95% confidence level, the sample size is said to be accurate at plus or minus 4.19% while being deemed sufficient since the benefits of analyzing a larger sample of responses were marginal. These 504 responses were analyzed and then categorized. Depending on the scope of each open-ended response, answers were coded in up to three categories.

Question 4. Do you have any thoughts or ideas concerning the design of the Memorial to the Victims of Communism?

	Incidence or number of times a topic was mentioned
Makes a suggestion with respect to the Memorial name/theme	168
Expresses concerns about the Memorial purpose	144
Requests that Memorial project be cancelled	139
Comments about the design of the Memorial	96
Suggests other type of monument be built	91
Expresses concerns about use of federal funding for the Memorial	88
Comments about the scale/size of the Memorial	53
Comments about location of the Memorial	51
Other	37
Expresses support for the Memorial project	25
Expresses concerns about the survey/consultation itself	9
Total 504 Respondents	901

Question 5. Do you live in the National Capital Region?

	Frequency	Percent
No	4241	52.9%
Yes	3773	47.1%
Total	8014	100.0%
No Answer	533
Total	8547

Question 6. In which province or territory do you live?

	Frequency	Percent
Alberta	391	4.6%
British Columbia	846	9.9%
Manitoba	176	2.1%
New Brunswick	71	0.8%
Newfoundland and Labrador	59	0.7%
Northwest Territories	12	0.1%
Nova Scotia	253	3.0%
Nunavut	12	0.1%
Ontario	5827	68.2%
Prince Edward Island	30	0.4%
Quebec	728	8.5%
Saskatchewan	116	1.4%
Yukon	26	0.3%
Total	8547	100.0%