British Columbians Think Public-Private Partnerships are a Good Idea

Vancouver, BC - A new special feature Ipsos-Reid poll reveals that British Columbians (60%) generally think it is a good idea to allow public-private partnerships (P3's) for the purpose of providing public infrastructure, community facilities and other services. And, a good number of BC residents - almost half the population (48%) - say they'd be willing to pay a toll or user fee to receive these services from a private company. The poll finds striking differences in attitudes across BC's traditional left-right spectrum. BC Liberal voters are much more likely than NDP voters to think these arrangements are a good idea (77% vs. 24%), and are much more willing to pay for them (65% vs. 25%).

"British Columbia can expect to be inundated with P3 proposals and ideas over the next few years" says Daniel Savas, Senior Vice President in Ipsos-Reid's Vancouver office. "The provincial government wants them, private enterprises want them, and so do BC Liberal voters." Nevertheless, Mr. Savas cautions "This should not be interpreted as a green light for the government to proceed with any proposal. For example, voters may be unlikely to judge healthcare proposals and highway proposals for P3s using the same criteria. And, any plan creating new out of pocket expenses for voters will likely get increased attention - and it may not be positive attention."

These are the findings of a special feature BC Ipsos-Reid poll conducted between March 4th and 11th, 2002 among a representative cross-section of 800 British Columbian adults. These data are statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional, age and sex composition reflects that of the actual BC population according to 1996 Census data. With a provincial sample of 800, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results are within 1773.5 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult BC population been polled. The margin of error will be larger for other sub-groupings of the survey population.

Six-in-Ten (60%) British Columbians Think Public-Private Partnerships are a Good Idea

British Columbians are generally supportive of private companies getting involved in areas currently under the responsibility of governments. Six-in-ten (60%) BC residents say it is a good idea to allow public-private partnerships for the purpose of providing infrastructure, community facilities and other services. This includes two-in-ten (21%) who think these arrangements are a "very good" idea and four-in-ten (39%) who think they are a "somewhat good" idea.

Meanwhile, four-in-ten (37%) British Columbians think public-private partnerships are a bad idea. Opposition to these arrangements is almost equally split between those who think they are a "very bad" idea (20%) and those who think they are a "somewhat bad" idea (17%).

• While perceptions of public-private perceptions do not differ significantly by geographic region of British Columbia, there are some notable differences across other demographic variables. Groups most likely to think these arrangements are a good idea include men (66% vs 55% women), younger residents (66% 18 to 34 years vs. 55% 55+ years), non-union households (67% vs. 49% union) and middle-higher income households (63% $30K+ vs. 51% Support for public-private partnerships is also much higher with 2001 provincial Liberal voters (77%) than it is with NDP voters (24%).

Half (48%) Willing to Pay Toll or User Fee

With many types of public-private partnerships, the private company needs to charge a toll or user fee to provide the service. British Columbians are divided in their willingness to make these payments to private companies. One-half (48%) of British Columbia residents say they would be willing to pay a toll or user fee for a service that was previously paid for by government through tax dollars. A similar proportion (50%) say they would not be willing to make this payment.

• As with overall impressions of public-private partnerships, there are no significant differences in willingness to pay a toll or user fee across BC's regions.
• Demographic groups most willing to pay a toll or user fee include men (53% vs. 43% women), middle-higher income households (52% $30K+ vs. 31% Not only are 2001 provincial Liberal voters much more likely to support the concept of public-private partnerships, they are also much more willing to pay a toll or user fee. Sixty-five percent of Liberal voters say they would be willing to pay a toll or user fee, compared with only 25 percent of NDP voters.

-30-
For more information on this news release, please contact:

Daniel Savas
Senior Vice President
Ipsos-Reid
(604) 257-3200