Canada Speaks: Presented by Sympatico / MSN

Toronto, ON - Nearly half of Canadians (45%) feel that they don't have the degree of control over their stress levels that they would like, according to a new Canada Speaks online public opinion poll conducted by Ipsos Reid and presented by Sympatico / MSN.

Just as they did in a 2002 Ipsos Reid survey, the largest proportions of Canadians point to the two-pronged challenges of work (37%, down from 43%) and finances (44%, down from 39%) when asked what are the main causes of stress in their life. And many (17%) agree they feel stress when they haven't checked their phone or email messages.

But while nearly half (45%) agree with the statement "I feel that I do not have the degree of control over my stress levels that I would like", many say their stress has a positive impact on important things in their life, such as:

• The quality of work they do at work (23% "positive impact");
• Their relations at home/with other family members or with friends (15% "positive impact"); and
• Their relations with co-workers (14% "positive impact").

However, most feel that stress is negatively impacting their "personal health" (52%) and "sleep patterns" (58%).

So, what are Canadians doing to help deal with their stress? One in five (22%) say they "exercise" to alleviate stress, 14% "read" and "go for a walk", and 9% "relax" and "talk it out".

But when it comes to "seeking professional help to deal with stress", one in five (19%) agree this is a "sign of personal weakness".

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll fielded from May 18th to May 23rd, 2006. For the survey, a representative sample of 1015 adult Canadians were interviewed via an on-line survey vehicle. The sample used in this study has been weighted according to Census data to accurately reflect the population of Canadians. With a sample of this size, the aggregate results are considered accurate to within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had this entire population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within each sub-grouping of the survey population.

With Canada Speaks, Sympatico / MSN is listening to its readers' opinions in order to continue providing them with the information they care most about. Canada's most popular online destination with more than 17.5 million visitors per month*, Sympatico.MSN.ca is the one online destination that provides the tools and information Canadian's need to connect with friends, family, and what's happening - in their community and around the world.

Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900