Four out of 10 Canadians trust polls. That is according to - of course - a poll by Ipsos Reid.
As CEO of Ipsos Global Public Affairs, Darrell Bricker has heard all the arguments for and against polling. He also understands that polling can be an imperfect science, especially in a nation of wanderers, immigrants and cellphones. But he believes that pollsters get things pretty close 19 times out of 20 - and that polling is big business in this country.
Mr. Bricker and his colleague John Wright have put out a book of polls called We Know What You're Thinking, which provides a new understanding of regional disparities and is intended to be voyeuristic fun.
On Tuesday at 2 p.m., Mr. Bricker is ready to answer your questions whether they be serious or fun. Want to know why polling is valuable, how best to understand polls or how polling has changed over the years? Or hear how different Albertans are from the rest of Canada when it comes to doing their laundry? Mr. Bricker has the answers.
Darrell Bricker is a senior executive at Ipsos Reid. Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Bricker was director of public opinion research in the Prime Minister's Office. He holds a PhD in political science from Carleton University and is the co-author (with former Globe and Mail editor Edward Greenspon) of Searching for Certainty: Inside the New Canadian Mindset.
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