Frank Graves (pollster)

Francis L. "Frank" Graves is a Canadian applied social researcher. He is the founder and current president of EKOS Research Associates Inc.

Education

Graves received a Bachelor of Arts in social anthropology from Carleton University in 1976, a Master of Arts in sociology from Carleton University in 1977, and has completed doctoral coursework and comprehensive exams in sociology.

Career

Graves is considered to be an expert in a number of fields related to public policy and program evaluation and has advised some of Canada's senior decision-makers, including the Prime Minister’s Office, the federal cabinet, the Clerk of the Privy Council, dozens of federal deputy ministers, and the United States Ambassador to Canada.

Graves has published widely in academic and mainstream publications. He has lectured at the Rotman School of Management, the Kennedy School at Harvard, the University of Ottawa, and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs in Washington, DC.

Graves is a frequent commentator in Canadian and American media. He has directed a number of public opinion research projects on behalf of the CBC, The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, and La Presse. He has made numerous television appearances on CBC’s Power & Politics with Evan Solomon, The National, and Politics with Don Newman, as well as CTV’s Mike Duffy Live. He has also been part of the CBC’s Election Night coverage team.

In 2013, Graves was named a Fellow of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, the highest professional designation in the marketing research industry in Canada.

Controversy

In April 2010, the Conservative Party of Canada accused Graves of giving partisan advice to the Liberal Party of Canada, noting his donations to the party since 2003. An investigation conducted by the CBC ombudsman found no evidence to support these allegations, stating that personal donor history is not relevant to one's objectivity as a pollster.

Select publications

• The Reinstatement of Progressive Canada, Institute for Research on Public Policy, January 11, 2016
• Democratic Reform and the Trust Factor, Policy Magazine (Volume 4, Issue 1, pp. 11-14), January-February 2016
• "Being Canadian Today: Images in a Fractured Mirror”, Canada: the State of the Federation 2012, Loleen Berdahl et al. McGill-Queen’s University Press, 2015. Print.
• "Canadian Public Opinion on Taxes", Tax is Not a Four-Letter Word: A Different Take on Taxes in Canada, Alex Himelfarb et al. Waterloo, ON: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, Oct. 4, 2013. Print.
• North America: Mosaic, Community, or Fortress? Published in NORTEAMÉRICA revista académia Year 2, number 2, July–December 2007
• The Shifting Public Outlook on Risk and Security, One Issue, Two Voices (Volume 4 - Threat Perceptions in the United States and Canada), Joint Publication of the Canada Institute and the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars, October 2005
• Polling on Trial: Lessons from the 2004 Canadian Election, Imprints, December 2004.
• “Canadians and Privacy”, Imprints (Journal of the Professional Market Research Society), October 2000.
• Collaborative Government: Looking for a Canadian Way. In Collaborative Government: Is there a Canadian Way? New Directions Series, Vol. 6. Toronto: The Institute of Public Administration of Canada, December 1999, pp. 12–22.
• Rethinking Government as if People Mattered: From Reaganomics to “Humanomics”. In Leslie A. Pal, ed. How Ottawa Spends 1999-2000: Shape-Shifting: Canadian Governance Toward the 21st Century. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 1999.
• Identity and National Attachment in Contemporary Canada, with Tim Dugas and Patrick Beauchamp. In Harvey Lazar and Tom McIntosh, eds. Canada: The State of the Federation 1998-99 (Vol. 13: How Canadians Connect). Kingston: Institute of Intergovernmental Relations, 1999.
• Canadians and their Public Institutions. Frank L. Graves and Paul Reed. Optimum: The Journal of Public Sector Management, 28:4 (1999), pp. 1–8
• La question du chômage et le caractère distinctif de l’électorat québécois au scrutin fédéral de 1993, with BenoÎt Gauthier and François-Pierre Gingras, Revue québécoise de science politique, no 27, Spring 1996
• Strengthening the Dialogue between Program Evaluation and Market Research: Toward Ongoing Monitoring and Evaluation Systems (OMES), Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, Vol. 3:1 (1988)
• There Goes the Neighbourhood?: The Impact of Accessory Apartments on Neighbouring Properties, Canadian Housing, Vol. 4:4 (Winter 1987)
• The Role of Economics in Evaluating Public Investment in the Arts in Paying for the Arts, published by The Association for Cultural Economics, Editors H.H. Chartrand, W.S. Hendron, and H. Horowitz. Akron, Ohio, 1987
• Towards Practical Rigour: Methodological and Strategic Considerations for Program Evaluation, in Optimum, Bureau of Management Consulting, Vol. 15:4 (1984)
• Methodological Considerations for Evaluating Multi-Level Cultural Support Programs in Governments and Culture (Volume 2) of the Proceedings of the Third International Conference on Cultural Economics and Planning, 1985
• Functional and Elective Illiteracy in Canada with B. Kinsley, Canadian Journal of Education, Vol. 8:4 (Autumn 1983), pp. 315–331
• Explorations in Time Use in The Time of Our Lives, Volume 2, for the Government of Canada, edited by B. Kinsley. DOC 1984. WH-7-272E