The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is demanding answers after records show the former Furey government spent $153,000 on taxpayer-funded polling, but government claims it cannot find the results.

“Taxpayers were forced to shell out $153,000 for public opinion tracking and we deserve to know what happened to that money,” said Devin Drover, CTF Atlantic Director and General Counsel. “Taxpayers deserve answers.”

The Furey government paid market research company MQO Research $153,000 for “public opinion tracking” between March 31, 2022, and Jan. 31, 2025, according to access-to-information records obtained by the CTF.

Despite spending that money over nearly three years, government officials have been unable to locate any survey results, reports or deliverables tied to the contracts following subsequent requests from the CTF.

“If politicians are burning taxpayer money on polling, taxpayers have every right to see what they paid for,” Drover said. “Right now, there’s no proof they got anything at all.”

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is calling on the Newfoundland and Labrador government to investigate what happened to the polling results and immediately release any reports, presentations or data connected to the contracts.

“Taxpayers should not be stuck paying for secret polling with nothing to show for it,” Drover said. “The government needs to get to the bottom of this and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”