Canadians Receive Manley Plan Cautiously

Toronto, ON - On the heels of the Manley report concerning the future of Canadian troops in Afghanistan, a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television finds that Canadians have given the recommendations a mixed review. One third of Canadians (35%) believe that the recommendations made by Manley comprise a `good' (29%) or `great' plan (6%) for Canada's troops currently stationed in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

The recommendation that Canada gradually shift its focus to a less combative role after February of 2009, provided that 1,000 additional troops be deployed to Afghanistan by Canada's allies, and that Canada receives new medium-lift helicopters and other aircraft to assist with the job, was given a `fair' assessment by nearly four in ten (36%) Canadians. One quarter (22%), though, say that these recommendations are a `bad plan', while 7% had no opinion.

Regardless of the panel's report, the country remains split on support for the current mission in Afghanistan. Fully one half (50%) of Canadians (down one point since August of last year) indicate that they support (22% strongly/28% somewhat) `the use of Canada's troops for combat efforts against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan'. However, nearly one half (46%) of the country remains opposed (27% strongly/19% somewhat) to the mission, an increase of one point since August. Four percent (4%) of Canadians do not know if they support or oppose the mission.

Finally, if given the option to decide the fate of Canada's troops after the current combat mission expires in February of 2009, 37% of Canadians would opt to bring our troops home, a decrease of seven points since October of 2007. Fourteen percent (14%) would extend our current mission (unchanged), while nearly one half (45%) of Canadians would have our troops remain in Afghanistan but `have them do something like train Afghani soldiers or police officers' (up five points since October). Four percent (4%) do not know what they would have the troops do beyond next February.

Regional Highlights....

• Residents of Atlantic Canada are the most likely (47%) to say that the plan is at least `good', followed by those in Ontario (39%), British Columbia (37%), Alberta (32%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (31%) and Quebec (27%). However, residents of Ontario (26%) and Quebec (22%) are most likely to say that this is a `bad plan' for Canadian troops.
• A majority of residents of Alberta (61%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (59%), Ontario (56%), Atlantic Canada (54%) and British Columbia (53%) support the current mission in Afghanistan. Just one third (33%) Quebecers support the mission.
• Men (54%) are significantly more likely than women (47%) to support the mission in Afghanistan.
• Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (42%) and Quebec (41%) are more likely than those living in BC (38%), Atlantic Canada (36%), Ontario (36%) and Alberta (25%) to say that the troops should come home after February of next year.
• Albertans (18%) are the most likely to want an extension to the current mission, followed by those in British Columbia (15%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (15%), Quebec (14%), Ontario (13%) and Atlantic Canada (9%).
• Albertans (53%) are also the most likely to say that Canada's troops should remain in Afghanistan but be redirected to a less combative role, followed by those in Atlantic Canada (49%), Ontario (47%), British Columbia (46%), Quebec (42%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (35%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television from January 22 to January 24, 2008. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1001 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1773.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population of Canada been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[email protected]

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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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