If you have been following Canadian and American politics recently, one adjective — “radical” — has dominated sound bites and speeches on both sides of the 49th parallel. The word has been used extensively to discredit the policies and ideas put forward by rivals.

We have seen this play out in the early stages of British Columbia’s provincial campaign. One party purportedly has a “radical agenda to legitimize illicit drug use.” Another proposes a tax cut that is deemed “extreme and radical.” And yet another fancies itself as “the only viable alternative to the radical” government.

The message is simple: “Everyone else is wrong. And dangerous.”

Research Co. recently asked Canadians about federal politics. The Conservative Party has a 15-point lead over the governing Liberal Party across the country. We relied on these same respondents to figure out if the current state of affairs can be explained solely by an ideological shift.

In our survey, only 13 per cent of Canadians describe themselves as extreme right or right, while a similar proportion (12 per cent) claim to be extreme left or left. The bulk of responses are seen for centre (33 per cent), centre left (15 per cent) or centre right (14 per cent).

On a regional basis, the largest proportion of Canadians who identify as extreme........

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