Canadian Opinion on Hiller:
92% Give General Salute

Toronto, ON - On the heels of General Rick Hillier's announcement that he will retire from his role as top military-commander of Canada's Armed Forces, a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television finds that nine in ten (92%) Canadians who offered their opinion say he's done a `good job' (very 49%/somewhat 43%) leading the Forces for the past three years.

While three in ten (28%) Canadians don't have an opinion either way, just 8% of those who do say that the General has done a `bad job' (3% very/5% somewhat) during his tenure as Canada's top soldier.

While a majority of Canadians across the country who have offered their opinion have given Gen. Hillier a positive performance appraisal, some parts of the country have a more favourable impression of him than others.

• Residents of Atlantic Canada are most likely to say that Gen. Hillier has done a `good job' (96%), followed by those in Alberta (95%), Ontario (94%) Saskatchewan and Manitoba (93%), and British Columbia (90%).
• Even in Quebec, where support for the war in Afghanistan is the lowest, most (86%) Quebecers say that Gen. Hillier has done a `good job' leading the Forces.
• Men (94%) are more likely than women (90%) to believe the General's performance to have been `good'.
• Older Canadians, aged 55 and older, have a higher propensity (97%) than middle-aged (96%), aged 35 to 54, or younger Canadians (79%), aged 18 to 34, to say that Gen. Hillier has done a `good job' over the past three years.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television from April 15 to April 17, 2008. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1002 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:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[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.

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

About 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 2007, Ipsos generated global revenues of e927.2 million ($1.27 billion U.S.).

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