Almost One Third (31%) Of Voters Might Switch Their Vote To Harper Tories Depending On What's In Monday's Federal Budget

Toronto, ON - The latest CanWest /Global News survey conducted by Ipsos Reid indicates that almost one third (31%) of Canadians plan to follow the outcome of Monday's second Federal Budget delivered by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty closely as it may convince them to vote for the Conservative Party in the next election. A total of 64% of Canadians say the budget won't affect them.

What's at stake with this budget politically?

Lots: if one third of decided Liberal voters (33%) and three in ten Green Party voters (28%), and to a lesser extent NDP voters (23%) and Bloc voters (15%), decide to vote for the Tories because of what's in the budget, the Harper Conservatives would be well into majority territory come election time.

These are the key finding of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted for CanWest News Service/Global News and fielded from March 13-15, 2007. For this survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the aggregate results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within each sub-grouping of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

Expectations: Who Will Get A Good News, Bad News Budget?

On balance, more Canadians expect to see good news (32%) than bad (17%) for themselves and their family coming in Monday's budget (48% said "neither").

As for what they expect for several interest groups or areas of interest it certainly varies.

Among the groups tested, most Canadians expect that the new budget will bring good news to the armed forces (57%) and to corporations (54%). Over two in five expect the new budget will bring good news with respect to the environment and global warming (46%), however, one in four (25%) see bad news for the environment coming from the budget.

Among decided voters, Conservatives are most likely to see good news coming from the budget for the armed forces (67%) and the environment (62%). Decided Liberal voters, meanwhile, are most likely to see good news in the budget for corporations (62%) as well as the armed forces (57%), but less so the environment (44%). Likewise, decided NDP voters see good news for corporations (66%) and the armed forces (56%) from the budget, but much less so for the environment (44%).

About Ipsos Reid
Ipsos Reid is Canada's market intelligence leader, the country's leading provider of public opinion research, and research partner for loyalty and forecasting and modelling insights. With operations in eight cities, Ipsos Reid employs more than 600 research professionals and support staff in Canada. The company has the biggest network of telephone call centres in the country, as well as the largest pre-recruited household and online panels. Ipsos Reid's marketing research and public affairs practices offer the premier suite of research vehicles in Canada, all of which provide clients with actionable and relevant information. Staffed with seasoned research consultants with extensive industry-specific backgrounds, Ipsos Reid offers syndicated information or custom solutions across key sectors of the Canadian economy, including consumer packaged goods, financial services, automotive, retail, and technology & telecommunications. Ipsos Reid is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

Ipsos
Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2006, Ipsos generated global revenues of 857.1 million euros ($1.1 billion USD).

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos offerings and capabilities.

Ipsos, listed on the Eurolist of Euronext - Comp B, is part of SBF 120 and the Mid-100 Index, adheres to the Next Prime segment and is eligible to the Deferred Settlement System. Isin FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP