Canadians Prefer Low-Key Canada Day as
Just 8% Would Attend National Celebrations on Parliament Hill if they Could

Toronto, ON - The final touches are being placed on Canada Day celebrations across the country, and the biggest party of them all - on Parliament Hill - is preparing for the arrival of Her Majesty the Queen. But a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Canada.com reveals that Canadians generally prefer a low-key Canada Day to one that is more packed with adventure or travel.

One in three (32%) Canadians say that if they could do anything on Canada Day this year, they would simply do `nothing' and just `stay at home and relax'. One quarter (25%) would ratchet up their activity level slightly and would ideally attend a public fireworks display in their local town or city, 13% would ideally go camping or for a picnic, while one in ten (10%) would be headed to the beach for the day.

Despite the participation of the Queen in this year's national celebration in Ottawa on Parliament Hill, just 8% of Canadians say that they would ideally spend Canada Day with their compatriots on Parliament Hill. A similar proportion would prefer to stay home and have their own fireworks display. Six percent (6%) don't know what they would ideally want to do on Canada Day.

The data reveal some interesting differences in attitudes among many of the demographic groups studied:

• Residents of Alberta (40%) and Quebec (39%) are much more likely than those in Ontario (30%), British Columbia (27%), Atlantic Canada (23%) and those living in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (22%) to say they would ideally do nothing on Canada Day.
• Those without kids are much more likely (35%) than those with kids (16%) to say they would ideally just like to stay at home and do nothing on Canada Day. Those with kids (33%) are more likely than those without (24%) to say they would ideally attend a fireworks display in their local town or city.
• Women (29%) are more likely than men (22%) to say they would ideally attend a fireworks display in their town or city, while men (35%) are more inclined than women (29%) to just want to stay home.
• Those over the aged of 55 are most likely (43%) to say they'd prefer to do nothing on Canada Day, while those aged 35 to 54 (32%) or 18 to 34 (18%) are less likely to say so.
• Nearly two in ten (17%) younger adults say they'd ideally head to the beach, while fewer middle aged (8%) and older (5%) Canadians would do the same.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between June 10 and 14, 2010, on behalf of Canada.com. For this survey, a sample of 1,017 adults from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics and 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. A survey with an unweighted probability sample of this size and a 100% response rate would have an estimated margin of error of +/-3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what the results would have been had the entire population of adults in Canada been polled. 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
Senior Research Manager
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[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.

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