Canadians Say Attack on Soldier at National War Memorial and Parliament Hill Top Canadian News Story of 2014 (36%)

Toronto, ON - Nearly four in ten (36%) Canadians say that the attack on a soldier at the Canadian War Memorial and the subsequent attack on Parliament Hill is the top Canadian news story of 2014, according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted by Global News. No other story from among the 14 possibilities compiled by Global News came close to challenging this story as the top news story of the year.

Rounding out the top five stories of the year are Rob Ford and his fall form the Toronto mayor's office (12%), the Harper government's failure to help Canadian Veterans (11%), the RCMP shootings in Moncton (9%) and ISIS recruits from Canada (7%).

Other notable stories that were chosen by fewer Canadians as the top news story include the Quebec seniors' home fire in L'isle-Verte (6%), the Jian Ghomeshi sexual abuse scandal (5%), the Canadian women's hockey team beats USA 3-2 winning the Olympic gold medal (3%), the Canadian men's hockey team beats Sweden 3-0 winning the Olympic gold medal (3%), the discovery of the Franklin Expedition Search Ship in the north (2%), RCMP and military post-traumatic stress disorder (2%), the Polar Vortex and never-ending winter (2%), the Calgary stabbing and murder of five university students at a house party (1%), and finally the Nathan O'Brien and Alvin and Kathy Liknes murders (1%).

• Residents of Alberta (45%), BC (43%) and Ontario (39%) were far more likely than those living in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (29%), Quebec (28%) and Atlantic Canada (27%) to say that the Ottawa attack was the top story of the year.
• Those in Ontario (18%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (19%) were more likely than the national average (12%) to choose the Rob Ford story.
• Four in ten (39%) Atlantic Canadians chose the RCMP shootings in Moncton as the top story, well ahead of the national average (9%).
• Quebecers (20%) were by far the most likely to choose the L'isle Verte seniors' home fire - next in line were Prairie residents at just 2%.
• Canadians aged 35 to 54 (44%) were particularly likely to choose the shooting in Ottawa as the top story, followed by those aged 55+ (33%) and 18 to 34 (30%).
• Younger Canadians (16%) were more likely to choose the Rob Ford saga than those aged 35 to 54 (12%) and 55 + (9%).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between December 16 to 19, 2014 on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,005 Canadians from Ipsos' Canadian 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 had all Canadians adults 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:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002
[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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