Canadians' Views On Public-Private Partnerships

Toronto, ON - According to a new Ipsos-Reid survey conducted on behalf of the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), a considerable majority of Canadians (84%) agrees with the statement "Canada's public services should be delivered by public sector workers accountable to elected representatives and the public, not by corporations accountable to shareholders."

Three-quarters (75%) of Canadians agree that "Canada should rebuild its public infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, highways and water systems, through direct public investment and not through public-private joint ventures with corporations."

Moreover, two-thirds (64%) of Canadians agree that "Canada's health care system should exclude corporations that operate for-profit, and instead rely solely on public and not-for-profit health care providers."

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Canadian Council/Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) poll conducted between March 30th and April 1st, 2004. For the telephone survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1057 adult Canadians were interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 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 2001 Census data.

A considerable majority (84%) of Canadians agree with the statement "Canada's public services should be delivered by public sector workers accountable to elected representatives and the public, not by corporations accountable to shareholders," (54% "strongly agree", 30% "somewhat agree"). One in seven (13%) Canadians disagree with this statement (5% "strongly disagree", 8% "somewhat disagree") and 3% "don't know."

• A vast majority (88%) of those living in Quebec agree that "Canada's public services should be delivered by public sector workers accountable to elected representatives and the public, not by corporations accountable to shareholders." Following residents of Quebec those most likely to agree are residents of Ontario (84%), Alberta (83%), Atlantic Canada (82%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (82%), and British Columbia (79%).

• Women are more likely than men to agree with the statement (86% vs. 81%).

Three-quarters (75%) of Canadians agree (38% "strongly agree", 37% "somewhat agree") that "Canada should rebuild its public infrastructure, such as hospitals, school, highways and water systems, through direct public investment and not through public-private joint ventures with corporations." Two in ten (22%) Canadians disagree (8% "strongly disagree", 14% "somewhat disagree") with the statement and 3% "don't know."

• Atlantic Canadians (85%) are the most likely to say "Canada should rebuild its public infrastructure, such as hospitals, schools, highways and water systems, through direct public investment and not through public-private joint ventures with corporations", followed by residents of Ontario (76%), Quebec (75%), British Columbia (75%), Alberta (72%), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (64%).

• Canadians aged 18-34 (80%) are slightly more likely than those aged 35 and older (74%) to agree with the statement.

• Canadians with an annual household income less than $30,000 (82%) are most likely to agree with the statement, followed by those whose income is $30,000-$60,000 (77%), and those Canadians with an annual income greater than $60,000 (71%).

• Women are more likely than men to agree with the statement (78% vs. 72%).

Moreover, two-thirds (64%) of Canadians agree that "Canada's health care system should exclude corporations that operate for-profit, and instead rely solely on public and not-for-profit health care providers," (36% "strongly agree", 28% "somewhat agree"). One-third (33%) disagree with this statement (11% "strongly disagree", 22% "somewhat disagree"). The remaining 3% "don't know."

• Residents of British Columbia (68%) and Atlantic Canada (68%) are the most likely to agree that "Canada's health care system should exclude corporations that operate for-profit, and instead rely solely on public and not-for-profit health care providers" followed closely by residents of Ontario (67%), Alberta (65%), and Quebec (60%). Just half (49%) of those Canadians living in Saskatchewan/Manitoba agree with this statement.

• Women are more likely than men to agree with the statement (68% vs. 59%).

• Those with an annual household income of less than $30,000 (74%) are more likely to agree with the statement than those whose income is $30,000-$60,000 (63%), and those Canadians whose annual income is greater than $60,000 (57%).

Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Darrell Bricker
President and C.O.O
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900