Canadians Assess The Performance Of Their Provincial Governments

Toronto, Ontario -- As the provincial premiers prepare for their meeting in Victoria, British Columbia a survey released today by Ipsos-Reid for CTV and the Globe and Mail shows that while 51 percent of Canadians approve of their provincial governments' performance (and 44% disapprove) the telling of the tale can be found in the regions of the country where performance ratings are significantly different. In fact, in each of the Western provinces, a full majority approve the performance of their governments whereas the Eastern provinces none of the governments receive majority approval.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail/CTV poll conducted between July 24th and 26th, 2001. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,002 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the 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 regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

Premier Ralph Klein enters the premier's meeting with the highest approval rating of any provincial government (81% versus 17% disapproval) followed by newly elected BC Premier Gordon Campbell's government at 65 percent approval (versus 27% disapproval). And, the governments of Saskatchewan and Manitoba have an approval rating of 54 percent versus 34 percent disapproval.

The approval ratings in the East are decidedly gloomier.

Premier Harris from Ontario, leading the charge for more federal healthcare dollars, has the approval of his government of only 45 percent of his province's residents (with 52% disapproval) -- virtually tied with the Atlantic region, whose residents' collective assessment of their provincial governments is 46 percent approval versus 49 percent disapproval. In Quebec, Premier Landry's government has an approval rating of 43 percent versus 51 percent disapproval.

On average, the approval ratings of the Western provincial governments is higher (67%) than their counterparts in Eastern Canada (45%). Other findings from the survey reveal:

• Men (56%) are more likely than women (46%) to approve of the performance of their current provincial government.
• Canadians from households with income of $60,000 or more (57%) are more likely than those from households with incomes below $30,000 (43%) to express approval. Canadians from households in the middle income range (50%) reflect the national average.
• Only three in ten (31%) Canadians with less than high school education approve of the performance of their provincial governments. Canadians with higher education are closer to the national average. (High school - 55%; Post secondary - 55%; University - 52%).

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Dr. Darrell Bricker
President and COO
Public Affairs
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900