Spotless social media history 'very important' to 40% of Manitoba voters: poll

Think before you tweet, Facebook or register that inadvisable remark on social media especially if you plan to have a future in politics because it could put you in bad standing with a large chunk of Manitoba voters, a new poll suggests.

Commentsmade onlineby political candidates could play a significant role in influencing elections, March 12 polling information released Tuesday by Mainstreet Research suggests. Of the 1,764 potential voters sampled across the province, 40 per cent said the presence ofembarrassingor offensive messages online is a"very important"factor in whether they would lend their support to a candidate.

The poll results in hotly contestedWinnipeg also suggest social media content could be a factor in the election. Of the 862 voters polled in the city,38 per cent said a candidate'smean or regrettable posts are ahuge turnoff likely to influencehow they vote.Another 25 per cent of voters on the provincial level, and 24 per cent in Winnipeg, said they would be at least "somewhat" troubled by offensive comments.

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"In terms of the importance of it, about 65 per centsaid that it was very important either somewhat or very important to themthat candidates for political office not make offensive remarks on social media," GuidoMaggi, president ofMainstreetResearch, said Monday.

"I guess it confirms what we already thought, that this is important to people. It does affect voters and how they will vote, so it's not surprising that parties do drop their candidates, or in some cases the candidates themselves choose not to run, because they realize they've said something in their past that can be considered offensive."

Homophobic, misogynistic comments

Asked the more pointed question of howhomophobic ormisogynistic remarks in particular would affect their voting decisions, 57 per cent of those sampled byMainstreetResearchacross the province answered such remarks would play a "very important"role in who they support.

The resultscomejust weeks aftertwo election candidates became embroiled in controversy after offensive, years-old tweets they made surfaced.

Jamie Hall resigned within 48 hours of announcing his candidacy inSouthdalefor the Liberals in early March.Tweets he made a few years ago referring to women, in one case his girlfriend, as"skanks" and "whores" were thrust into the spotlight and had the NDP calling on the Liberals to can Hall.

Days later, WabKinew, the NDP candidate for Fort Rouge, found himself being criticized for words he used in the past. The former CBC broadcaster and hip-hop artist used the word"fag" and referred to women inmisogynistictermsin his lyrics.Problematic tweets fromKinew, in some cases almost a decade old, were also put under the microscope.

Kinewacknowledged his past remarks in his 2015 bookThe Reason You Walkand has since apologized publicly again. Hall stood by his remarks about women, saying they were made in jest.

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Maggi said there's no real excuse in 2016 for both parties and candidates to not be mindful of these pitfalls.

"I guess there's less leeway in this day and age where everything is chronicled and indexed and [searchable]," he said.

"It's just a new era now where people are going to grow up in a social media environment from that young age, and I guess the lesson ispeople need to be a little more careful about what they post on social media, andif they're ever going to seek political office later, maybe some self-vetting of what's on their social media accounts."

47% approve of tax hike for rich

A large chunk of voters in Winnipeg and across Manitoba also tend to be in favour of increasing tax rates for the wealthiest people in the province, the poll suggests. In Winnipeg, 49 per cent of those surveyed said they approve of a hike for the rich; 47 per cent across Manitoba also support an increase.

On March 8, the New Democrats said in a non-binding fiscal update that they will create a new tax bracket for incomes over $170,000 if they are re-elected in the April 19 provincial vote.

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Mainstreet Research also asked respondents how they rank a party's stance on "cutting wasteful government spending and continuing government spending on important services." Forty-one per cent of Manitobans polled said they trust the Progressive Conservatives to rein in spending; 22 per cent have faith in the NDP; 16 per cent support the Liberals to be fiscally responsible; and three per cent went with the Green Party.

Just weeks away from the April 19 provincial election, 17per cent of voterssaid they still aren't sure which party to trust with that reasonability.

Probability samples of the size in this poll carry a margin of error of+/- 2.33 per cent, 19 times out of 20.