Canadians Concerned About Climate Change

Toronto, ON - A new Ipsos Reid study conducted on behalf of CanWest Global reports that a near consensus (90%) of Canadians express some degree of concern about the issue of climate change, with most (57%) saying they are either "definitely concerned" (40%) or "extremely concerned" (17%) about this issue.

Further, most Canadians (63%) feel "desperately concerned that if we don't take drastic action right now, the world may not last much longer than another couple of generations" (20% strongly feel this way).

This is consistent with a similar number (66%) who believe that recent melting ice flows and hot summers over the past five years point to "the effect of man made gasses being trapped in the atmosphere" versus 34% who say such climate activity is simply "the effect of normal warming and cooling patterns that rise and fall" over time.

Thirty-five percent of Canadians agree with the statement "I trust Stephen Harper's government to take the right and most reasonable steps to reduce Canada's greenhouse gas emissions to protect against global warming" versus 65% who disagree with this statement.

Lastly, one in five (19%) Canadians are of the opinion that popular despair about global warming is "completely fabricated and made up by pessimistic environmentalists and scientist trying to get attention".

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted for CanWest/Global and fielded from August 24th to 28th, 2006. For the survey, a representative sample of 1296 adult Canadians were interviewed via an on-line survey The sample used in this study has been weighted according to Census data to accurately reflect the population of professional Canadians. With a sample of this size, the aggregate results are considered accurate to within +/-2.7 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.

Full tabular results are available in the attached factum and tables

For more information or to schedule a media interview, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid Publc Affairs
(416) 324-2900
[email protected]

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 300 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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