The Cadman Caper

Ottawa, ON - In a week where Liberal allegations of bribery were met with Conservative threats of a law suit, a new Ipsos Reid poll has asked Canadians which side of the story they believe and what the best option is going forward in order to get to the bottom of this affair.

On the allegation that Conservative Party officials offered dying MP Chuck Cadman a $1-million life-insurance policy if he would vote to defeat the Liberal government in May of 2005, nearly one half (44%) of Canadians believe it is true, while one in three (35%) do not think it is true. However, almost one quarter (22%) of Canadians have not yet decided which side of the story they believe.

Among those who believe that the allegation is true, only three in ten (30%) believe Stephen Harper's claim that he did not know about the offer of a $1-million life-insurance policy. In fact, two thirds of those who believe the allegation is true (67%) do not believe Stephen Harper's claims. So, in total , 29% of Canadians think Prime Minister Harper isn't telling the truth.

In reaction to the Prime Minister's decision to the sue the Liberal Party over claims made about the Cadman controversy on its website, only three in ten (29%) Canadians believe he `is right to sue' the Liberals over these allegations, while a solid majority (62%) believes that `these matters should be kept out of the courts'.

And, thinking about the best course of action to get to the bottom of the Cadman issue, one third (32%) say that `a public investigation led by a third party such as the Speaker of the House or Ethics Commissioner' would be the best way forward, while a similar proportion (31%) believes that `an investigation led by the RCMP' would be most appropriate.

Others are of the opinion that `question period in the House of Commons' would be the best way to get to the bottom of this allegation (10%), while one in ten (10%) would choose the Prime Minister's course of action and believe that a civil court case would be the best option. Just 6% think that allowing the media to `flush it out' would be optimal, while 11% do not know what the best way going forward is.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television from March 4 to March 6, 2008. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1001 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of Canada been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
Dr. Darrell Bricker
President & CEO
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
416-509-8460
[email protected]

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.

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