Alberta Election Poll February 14, 2001

Majority (60%) Want Reinvestment in Social Programs Such as Health Care and Education When Provincial Debt Paid Off, Not Tax Reductions (28%) or Saving Money for the Future (12%)
Top Campaign Issues are Health Care (49%), Education (23%), and Gas Deregulation/Pricing (21%)

Klein Tories Cited as Leader/Party Who Would do Best Job on Each of 12 Issues Tested

Calgary, Alberta - In an Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll released today, a majority (60%) of Albertans want "reinvesting in social programs such as health care and education" to be the top priority when managing the province's budget surplus after the provincial government pays off its debt. In comparison, only three-in-ten (28%) prefer "reducing taxes" and 12 percent prefer "saving money for the future".

In a campaign where Albertans cite the top issues as health care (49%), education (23%), and gas deregulation/pricing (21%), Albertans view Ralph Klein and the Progressive Conservatives as the leader and party who would do the best job on all of the twelve issues tested if they were elected when choosing from among the major leaders and parties. While strong on most of the issues tested, the Klein Tories are weaker on the top campaign issues of health care (44% vs. 34% Liberals) and education (47% vs. 30% Liberals) - the strongest issues for the Liberals.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail/CTV poll conducted between February 9th and February 11th, 2001. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 750 adult Albertans. The results are accurate to within 177 3.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire Alberta population been surveyed. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. The data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Alberta population according to the 1996 Census data.

Majority (60%) Want Reinvestment in Social Programs Such as Health Care and Education When Provincial Debt Paid Off, Not Tax Reductions (28%) or Saving Money for the Future (12%)

Of the three options tested, a majority (60%) of Albertans say that "reinvesting in social programs such as health care and education" should be the top priority for managing the province's budget surplus after the provincial government has paid off its debt. This compares with only three-in-ten (28%) who prefer "reducing taxes" and 12 percent who prefer "saving money for the future".

  • Women (72%) are more likely than men (49%) to prefer reinvesting in social programs, whereas men (36%) are more likely than women (19%) to prefer reducing taxes.
  • Support for reducing taxes is highest in Calgary (31%) and Edmonton (30%), and lowest in Southern (20%) and Central (20%) Alberta.

Top Campaign Issues are Health Care (49%), Education (23%), and Gas Deregulation/Pricing (21%)

The top campaign issues are health care (49%), education (23%), and natural gas prices/deregulation (21%). Other notable mentions include taxes/tax reform (15%), electricity deregulation/prices (13%), and deficit/debt/government overspending (9%).

  • Women are more likely than men to mention health care (57% women versus 40% men) and education (29% women versus 17% men) as the most important election issue.
  • Men (19%) are more likely than women (10%) to say taxes/tax reform is the most important election issue.

Klein Tories Cited as Leader/Party Who Would do Best Job on Each of 12 Issues Tested

Albertans view Ralph Klein and the Progressive Conservatives as the party which would do the best job on all of the issues tested, as indicated by the following chart. However, the Klein Tories are weaker on the top campaign issues of health care (44% vs. 34% Liberals) and education (47% vs. 30% Liberals) - the strongest issues for the Liberals.

  • Klein and the Conservatives are strongest on health care among men (51%) and residents of Calgary (50%), and are weakest among women (37%) and residents of Northern Alberta (37%).
  • MacBeth and the Liberals are strongest on health care among women (42%) and residents of Northern (39%) and Southern (38%) Alberta, and are weakest among men (27%) and residents of Central Alberta (30%) and Calgary (32%).

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Marc Henry
Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid
(403) 237-0066

Download

Related news