Canadian Outlook: Optimism Abounds

Toronto, ON - As the year comes to an end, a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television finds that most (80%) Canadians say that 2007 was a `good year' when compared to other years. To put it in context, last year, three quarters of Canadians (76%) thought that 2006 was a good year, overall.

• Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are the most likely to think that 2007 was a good year (89%), followed by those living in Alberta (87%), Atlantic Canada (86%), Quebec (80%), British Columbia (77%) and Ontario (76%).
• Younger Canadians are more inclined to believe that 2007 was a good year (86%), followed by middle-aged Canadians (80%), aged 35 to 54, and older Canadians (75%).

More specifically, three in ten (31%) thought that 2007 was a `very good year', while one half (49%) thought that it was a `somewhat good year' overall. Just two in ten thought that it was a bad year (very bad 8%/somewhat bad 10%), while 2% said it was neither good nor bad.

Thinking ahead to 2008, most Canadians appear to be optimistic about the future. In fact, comparing results from this year and last reveals that Canadians appear to be more optimistic about next year than they were about this year.

Over nine in ten (92%) are optimistic that 2008 will be a good year for them personally (92%), compared to 88% who were optimistic about 2007. A similar proportion are optimistic that 2008 will be a good year for their families (90%), up from 88% who thought that 2007 would be good for their families.

While eight in ten (81%) are optimistic that 2008 will be a good year for Canada as a whole, 78% thought that 2007 was going to be good for Canada.

• Those living in British Columbia (86%) and Alberta (85%) are most likely to be optimistic for Canada's future in 2008, while Quebecers (75%) are less likely to be optimistic that it will be a good year for Canada.

However, fewer Canadians think that what the next year has in store will be good for the world. Just six in ten (58%) are optimistic that 2008 will be a good year for the world. Nevertheless, this is up from 49% who thought that 2007 would be a good year for the world.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted for CanWest News Service/Global News and fielded from December 18 -20, 2007. For this survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1,001 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.

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.