Canadians Hold Steady on Economic Outlook

Doubling Since November, One-Third (34%) of Canadians Now Say Economy Will "Get Worse" Next Year - One-Quarter (24%) Say it Will "Improve"
62% Say it is a "Good Time" to Make a Major Purchase Such as a Car, House or Major Appliance

But Percentage of Canadians Who Say it is a "Bad Time" to Buy Stocks (43%) Jumps 9 Points Since February - 50% Still Say it is a "Good Time" to Buy

Toronto, ON - The results of an Ipsos-Reid/CTV poll released today show that Canadians are becoming more pessimistic about the economy with one-third (34%) saying that the economy will "get worse". Still, a quarter (24%) of Canadians say that the economy will "improve". In addition, 62 percent of Canadian say that it is currently a "good time" to make a major purchase such as a car, house or major appliance. However, Canadians are not quite as bullish about the stock market with the percentage (43%) who say that it is a "bad time" to buy stocks jumping 9 points since early February 2001 - 50 percent still say that now is a "good time" to buy stocks.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/CTV poll conducted between March 8th and March 10th, 2001. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 803 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.5 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.

Doubling Since November, One-Third (34%) of Canadians Now Say Economy Will "Get Worse" Next Year - One-Quarter (24%) Say it Will "Improve"

Amid recent comments from the Finance Minister about slowing economic growth over the next year, one-third (34%) of Canadians now say that the economy will "get worse" over the next year. This is up 6 points since February 2001 (28%) and is double the number who said the economy would "get worse" in November 2000 (17%). A quarter (24%) of Canadians think that the economy will "improve" - up 5 points since February 2001. Meanwhile, four-in-ten (40%) think that the economy will "stay the same" over the next year.

  • Albertans are the most likely (35%) to say that the economy will "improve" and the least likely to say that it will "get worse" (22%).
  • Residents of Atlantic Canada (44%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (40%) and Ontario (39%) are the most likely to say that the economy will "get worse".
  • Women are slightly more pessimistic about the economy (22% "improve", 37% "get worse") than men (27% "improve", 32% "get worse").

62% Say it is a "Good Time" to Make a Major Purchase Such as a Car, House or Major Appliance

Despite some economic uncertainty, many Canadians (62%) still say that now is a "good time" to make a major purchase such as a car, house or major appliance. In contrast, one-third (35%) say that it is a "bad time".

  • Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (50%) are the least likely to say that it is a "good time" to make a major purchase, while Albertans (69%) are the most likely to say that it is a "good time" to make a major purchase.
  • Canadians with a high school education or less (55%) are less likely than those with a university education (69%) to say that it is a "good time" to make a major purchase.
  • Low income Canadians (50%) are less likely than middle income (64%) and high income (70%) Canadians to say that it is a "good time" to make a major purchase.

But Percentage of Canadians Who Say it is a "Bad Time" to Buy Stocks (43%) Jumps 9 Points Since February - 50% Still Say it is a "Good Time" to Buy

Canadians are also becoming more pessimistic about the stock market. Although a bare majority (50%) still say it is a "good time" to buy stocks, the percentage of Canadians who say it is a "bad time" to buy has increased 9 points (to 43%) since early February 2001 (34%).

  • Men (55%) are more likely than women (44%) to say that it is a "good time" to buy stocks.
  • Middle aged Canadians (56%) are more likely than younger (49%) and older (40%) Canadians to say now is a "good time" to buy.
  • Albertans (31%) are the least likely to say that now is a "bad time" to buy stocks.
  • University graduates (61%) and those with some post-secondary (59%) are more likely than those with a high school education or less (33%) to say that it is a "good time" to buy stocks.
  • Similarly, the perception that it is a "good time" to buy increases with income from 32% among low income Canadians to 51% among middle income and 64% among high income Canadians.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Public Affairs
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900

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