Canadians Feeling Charitable as Christmas Season Approaches

Toronto, ON - In the lead up to Christmas - a season that nine in ten (89%) Canadians agree (57% strongly/33% somewhat) is becoming too commercial - a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of World Vision has found that Canadians appear to be feeling charitable, even more so than last year.

Three quarters (75%) say they're likely (28% very/48% somewhat) to donate to charity this holiday season (up 5 points), while half (49%) are likely (16% very/33% somewhat) to volunteer for a charitable organization. In fact, nine in ten (88%) Canadians `agree' (39% strongly/50% somewhat) that `we need to spend more time at Christmas focusing on those who need help'.

Eschewing the growing commercialization of the holidays, just one in ten (9%) Canadians would best describe the spirit of the season as giving gifts to those they care about. For most (53%) it's about bringing family together, while others see is primarily as an opportunity to celebrate the birth of Christ (14%), demonstrating love and caring (12%), helping those less fortunate (7%) or some other purpose (4%).

In the spirit of helping others, three quarters (76%) `agree' (30% strongly/46% somewhat) that they would `prefer to receive a meaningful gift that would help someone else, rather than another traditional gift like clothes or electronics'.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between October 7 and October 11, 2015, on behalf of World Vision. For this survey, a sample of 1,006 Canadians from Ipsos' online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]

About Ipsos in Canada

Ipsos 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 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' 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 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 is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

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

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry.

With offices in 86 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos researchers 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 and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,669.5 ($2,218.4 million) in 2014.

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos' offerings and capabilities.