Alberta abortion survey linked to conservative call centre

Alberta's provincial flag flies on a flag pole in Ottawa, Monday July 6, 2020. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld)

A province-wide poll on parental rights for minors in Alberta seeking abortions was conducted by a company belonging to a Calgary-based conservative call centre, CTV News has learned.

National Public Research Canada (NPRC) identified itself as being the organization conducting the poll, which saw thousands of Albertans asked if parental rights should include parental consent for a minor seeking an abortion.

NPRC then released the results of the survey on Monday.

NPRC said the polling was not commissioned.

When contacted for further information, NPRC disclosed it is a subsidiary of a voter contact firm, but wouldn't name the firm.

On Tuesday, after further discussion with the company, NPRC revealed it is one of "several registered operating names belonging to Blue Direct, a Calgary-based, conservative-oriented calling house specializing in direct voter contact."

Corporate registry information confirms this is true. 

In a statement, NPRC said Richard Dur, the principal of Blue Direct, also serves as the volunteer executive director of ProLife Alberta.

"Prolife Alberta is a group of women and men committed to promoting pro-life public policy in Alberta through political means."

While other polling firms have questioned the methodology, NPRC says it stands by the results of the survey, which it says it intended to keep internal.

Dur says questions about the origins of the poll and its veracity compelled NPRC to disclose more information.

The survey suggests 52 per cent of respondents support both parental notification and consent, while 10 per cent said they'd like to be notified without having their consent required. An additional 30 per cent said neither consent nor notification should be required and nine per cent were undecided.

NPRC says Interactive Voice Response technology was used to call 37,300 Albertans on Feb.1.

Of those called, NPRC says 16.2 per cent responded to the poll: 6,047 people in total.

According to NPRC, results were weighed by age and gender based on the region in the province and the poll carries an overall margin of error of +/- 2.1 percentage points.

"Anyone who questions the veracity of the results is welcome to put their money where their mouth is and see for themselves: a majority of Albertans recognize that parental rights should include consent and/or notification when their minor child wishes to undergo the irreversible surgical procedure of abortion," said NPRC in a statement.

In Alberta, consent for abortion is based on capacity, not age. If a physician or clinic feels a minor understands the procedure and its risks, that young person can sign their own consent form.

According to the most recent statistics available, the Canadian Institute for Health Information says there were 226 abortions among girls aged 17 or younger in 2021 out of 11,223 abortions performed overall in the province that year.

The poll was conducted as Alberta Premier Danielle Smith announced a raft of changes affecting transgender Albertans, including requiring parental consent for students 15 and under who want to change their names or pronouns at school.

In an emailed statement Friday, the Government of Alberta said "there are no further policies being considered" regarding minors in addition to the proposed rules for transgender youth.