Overview

In today’s volatile policy environment, pressure can mount quickly – and unexpectedly. Whether you're a senior government relations professional, corporate executive, public policy leader, regulator or industry association advocate, you’ve likely felt it: the growing intensity of public scrutiny, political finger-pointing, or calls for government action. But how can you quantify that pressure? Identify where it’s coming from? Track it over time? Anticipate whether your industry or portfolio might be next in the spotlight, prioritized for a policy response that can have significant consequences?

That’s exactly what the Regulatory Pressure Gauge (RPG) was built to do.

Developed and launched in Canada by public opinion researcher Doug Anderson, the RPG is a proprietary tool that measures the level of public pressure on governments to intervene – or intervene further – in specific industries. It helps organizations understand the relativity of public pressure across industries or within sectors, how pressure is evolving over time, and what signals are most likely influencing trade associations, politicians and regulators behind the scenes.

Public Pressure is Real – and It’s Rising

We live in an era where public expectations are high, trust in traditional institutions is fraying, and digital platforms amplify outrage faster than reason. Public demands of governments and industries can shift quickly, while digital platforms make it easier for concerns to spread, coalesce and attract attention. Citizens no longer need to rely on advocacy groups or journalists to raise concerns on their behalf: they can voice dissatisfaction directly, connect with others who share it, and create visible pressure for government action.

That pressure necessarily influences regulatory agendas, legislative priorities, and ministerial mandates. It changes the tone of debate in Parliament, shifts budget allocations, and impacts how regulators enforce or rewrite rules. It affects how the media cover industries and policies designed to avoid undesirable behaviour within industries. And the pressure often starts long before any formal consultation is organized, let alone launched. So, it is extremely valuable to be aware of pressure levels and changes as early and constantly as possible.

The RPG equips stakeholders with a clearer picture of that process. By surveying thousands of Canadians annually on over 70 specific industries, the RPG:

• produces a pressure index that allows industries to compare themselves against over 70 other industries and against the average “white noise” level of pressure that any industry can expect by default;
• identifies industries where public demand for more – or less – government intervention is strongest;
• identifies the segments producing public pressure (e.g., region, gender, partisanship); 
• monitors how a crisis impacts the level of pressure for both the short- and long-term; and 
• tracks how campaigns or public messaging may be relieving – or worsening – the burden.

From grocery CEOs to the big telcos: Pressure can lead to policy

The RPG’s real-world value became apparent during its 2023 pilot survey. Among 15 industries analysed, the grocery industry registered the highest public pressure – twice the average. Within months, the federal government responded: the Prime Minister convened grocery CEOs, announced new price-stabilization measures, and introduced proposed amendments to the Competition Act. The subsequent political response was consistent with the pressure detected in the pilot data.

Similar stories have since played out across other sectors. In 2025, the federal cabinet accepted a CRTC ruling to expand competition in telecom – another sector the RPG flagged as facing above-average pressure. Public pressure does not determine government action, but sustained and broadly based pressure can make an issue harder for policymakers and regulators to ignore.

A Call to Be Proactive

Canadians are not simply “for” or “against” regulation. Even amid economic uncertainty, recent RPG findings show that only about one in three Canadians agree that governments should be less stringent with industries for a while. The broader picture is more nuanced: Canadians may value economic growth and competitiveness while still wanting stronger oversight of particular industries.

If your organization would benefit from knowing where any particular industry stands, who’s applying pressure, and what can be done about it, the Regulatory Pressure Gauge is a tool built for this moment.

Why This Matters to You

Whatever industry you are in or if you are a policymaker or regulator, the RPG gives you a strategic edge by helping you:

• Measure the current level of pressure facing any industry and how that might relate to the public agenda or to your strategic planning.
• Identify exposure: Is an industry’s pressure score rising or falling relative to others?
• Target your audiences: Which Canadians are driving the concern?
• Inform your communications: Use RPG findings to make data-backed arguments to media, the public, policymakers, regulators or industry members.
• Relieve high pressure: Track whether policy, communications or PR efforts are moving the needle.
• Leverage low pressure: Understand when pressure is low, how to maintain it, how to leverage champions in society, and decide whether or how relatively low pressure impacts public affairs or industry-government relations, strategies and asks.

At its core, the RPG is not just a diagnostic – it’s a decision-support tool. It gives private- and public-sector organizations an earlier, evidence-based view of where regulatory pressure is building, receding or holding steady.

Free Briefing on Latest Data

After extensive pilot testing, the first full RPG study was undertaken in 2024 and included over 70 industries. The annual studies conducted since then show how the context has changed, as well as which industries are facing more or less pressure, and by whom.

Contact Doug Anderson to find out more about what the RPG shows for any industry and how to leverage the RPG yourself.