Canadians' Views on Health Care Funding Priorities

Over seven in ten (71%) Canadians feel that the federal government's first priority on health care spending should be to "restore health care funding to the provinces which was cut to help reduce the deficit", in comparison to the alternative of funding new national health care programs. Among those who feel the federal government should place priority on new national health care programs (27%), the majority feels that when given a choice, homecare programs should be launched first over pharmacare programs.

These findings emerged from a Globe and Mail/National Angus Reid Poll conducted among a representative cross-section of 1,515 Canadian adults between October 23rd and 28th, 1997.

Provincial funding versus national programs

Given two options for increased health care funding, just over seven in ten (71%) Canadians indicate that the federal government's first priority should be to "restore to the provinces the funding intended for Medicare that was cut by the federal government to help reduce the deficit". Under three in ten (27%) would prefer the federal government to "fund new national health care programs such as a new pharmacare program or a new homecare program". Two percent (2%) are undecided. (Table 1)

• Those predominantly more likely to want the federal government to restore provincial health care funding tend to be Western Canadians (75% among British Columbians, 80% among Albertans, and 76% among residents of Saskatchwan/ Manitoba), and Reform (81%) and Bloc Quйbйcois (78%) supporters.
• On the other hand, residents of Quebec are somewhat more likely than those in other regions to feel that the government's priority should be to fund new national health care programs.

Homecare versus pharmacare

Of the 27% of Canadians who feel that the federal government's first priority should be to fund new national health care programs, just over six in ten (61%) report that Ottawa should launch homecare programs first, compared to over one-third (35%) who believe that pharmacare programs should be launched first. Four percent (4%) are undecided. (Table 2)

• The subset of Canadians more likely to want the federal government to launch homecare programs tend to be Reform (82%) and Bloc Quйbйcois (68%) supporters, residents of Ontario (71%) and those aged 55 and older (66%).
• Pharmacare, on the other hand, is more likely to be chosen by federal NDP supporters (43%), residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (57%), British Columbians (48%) and Atlantic Canadians (48%), as well as by those without a highschool education (44%).

This Globe and Mail/National Angus Reid Poll was conducted by telephone between October 23rd and 28th, 1997 among a random and representative cross-section of 1,515 Canadian adults.

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 1991 and 1996 Census data.

With a national sample of 1,515, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results are within ±2.5 percentage points 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.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(416) 324-2900

Dr. Darrell Bricker
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(613) 241-5802

Christian Bourque
Directeur de recherche Affaires Publiques
(514) 877-5550