“What does mainstream society know and think about Aboriginal peoples today? In recent years, there have been a handful of media-sponsored public opinion polls purportedly showing that the Canadian public is ‘hardening’ to Aboriginal aspirations. Such results are not consistent with other research conducted by the Environics Institute and others, which found clear evidence of a more understanding and supportive perspective. What is needed today is a current, balanced and thoughtful understanding of non-Aboriginal Canadian public opinion about Aboriginal peoples, and their relationship to broader society and institutions in Canada […] To address this need, the Environics Institute for Survey Research conducted a national public opinion survey to take a proper reading of non-Aboriginal public knowledge and attitudes about Aboriginal peoples” (Canadian Public Opinion on Aboriginal Peoples, pgs. 1-2).