The Cranium Fun Study:

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to a new study conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of Cranium Inc., the board game company, 95% of Canadians agree that "having fun will lead to a more successful or healthier lifestyle." Three-quarters (72%) strongly agree. When asked about their own lives, eight in ten (80%) Canadians say they personally have enough fun in their life. However, viewed from another perspective, six in ten (60%) do not strongly agree they have enough fun in their lives, compared to 40% who do strongly agree with this view.

Given the choice of a number of funny Canadians to vote for as National Minister of Fun, if such a position existed, Mike Myers (25%) and Jim Carrey (24%) tie for the lead, followed by Rick Mercer (16%) and Yvon Deschamps (16%) in second spot and then Andrea Martin (5%). The remaining 15% of Canadians polled say they would not vote for any of these candidates (7%) or they are unsure as to how they would vote (8%).

As for fun in their own lives, six in ten (57%) Canadians say they have the most fun with family members, while the number who say friends of the same sex (20%), friends of the opposite sex (15%), and work colleagues (7%) follow behind.

Given a choice of a number of activities, one in three (33%) Canadians say they would have the most fun playing a board game with friends or family, while one-quarter (26%) opt for singing or dancing, followed by one in ten (14%) who choose more artistic pursuits such as painting, drawing, doodling, or sculpting. Slightly less (10%) say they have the most fun doing crosswords or word puzzles and 8% say answering trivia questions is the most fun. The remaining 8% thought none of the activities listed were fun.

As for what city in Canada is the most fun, 32% of Canadians select Montreal. Toronto comes in second (22%) followed by Vancouver (17%), Calgary (10%), Halifax (6%), Edmonton (5%), and finally Winnipeg (3%). The remaining 4% said either none (3%) or they did not know (1%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of Cranium Inc. between August 19th and August 21st, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,058 Canadians. 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.

Nine in Ten (95%) Say Having Fun Leads to a Healthy, Successful Life; 80% Say They Have Enough Fun in Their Life

More than nine in ten (95%) Canadians agree that "having fun will lead to a more successful or healthier lifestyle," with 72% who strongly agree. The remaining 5% disagree (3% somewhat disagree, 2% strongly disagree).

• There are no statistically significant socio-demographic differences for this question.

Eight in ten (80%) Canadians agree (40% strongly agree, 40% somewhat agree) with the statement "I personally have enough fun in my life." The remaining 20% disagree (11% somewhat disagree, 9% strongly disagree).

• Residents of Quebec (88%) are most likely to agree with the statement, followed by residents of British Columbia (83%), Ontario (79%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (77%), and Alberta (73%). Atlantic Canadians (65%) are the least likely to agree that they personally have enough fun in their life.

• Young adults (86%) and older adults (83%) are more likely than middle-aged Canadians (74%) to agree that they personally have enough fun in their life.

Mike Myers (25%) and Jim Carrey (24%) Tie for Canada's Minister of Fun

If Canadians were to vote for a National Minister of Fun, Mike Myers (25%) and Jim Carrey (24%) would both be in the lead. Rick Mercer (16%) and Yvon Deschamps (16%) would tie for second, and Andrea Martin (5%) would come in last. The remaining 15% of Canadians polled say they would not vote for any of these candidates (7%) or they are unsure as to how they would vote (8%).

• Residents of Ontario (37%) and Alberta (32%) are more likely to vote for Mike Myers, residents of British Columbia (29%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (29%) are more likely to vote for Jim Carrey, residents of Atlantic Canada are more likely to vote for Rick Mercer (39%), and residents of Quebec are more likely to vote for Yvon Deschamps (57%).

• Canadians between the age of 18 and 54 are more likely than their elders to vote for Mike Myers (32% vs. 9%) or Jim Carrey (27% vs. 18%), while Canadians over the age of 55 are more likely than their younger counterparts to vote for Rick Mercer (21% vs. 14%), none of the proposed candidates (10% vs. 5%), or say they don't know (17% vs. 2%).

• Men (28%) are more likely than women (22%) to vote for Mike Myers.

Having Fun with the Family

Six in ten (57%) Canadians say they have the most fun with family members, 20% say friends of the same sex, 15% say friends of the opposite sex, and 7% say work colleagues.

• Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (65%) are most likely to say they have the most fun with family members, followed by residents of Alberta (59%), Ontario (59%), Atlantic Canada (59%), Quebec (55%), and British Columbia (50%).

• Canadians 35 years and older (64%) are more likely than Canadians 18-34 (41%) to have the most fun with family members. Canadians between the ages 18 and 34 are more likely than their elders to have the most fun with friends of the same sex (27% vs. 17%) and have the most fun with friends of the opposite sex (23% vs. 11%).

• Women (62%) are more likely than men (53%) to have the most fun with family members; and men (19%) are more likely than women (11%) to have the most fun with friends of the opposite sex.

One in Three (33%) Would Have Most Fun Playing a Board Game with Family or Friends

Given a choice of a number of activities, one in three (33%) Canadians say they would have the most fun playing a board game with friends or family; 26% say singing or dancing; 14% say painting, drawing, doodling, or sculpting; 10% say doing crosswords or word puzzles; and 8% say answering trivia questions (the remaining 8% thought none of the activities were fun).

• Young (37%) and middle-aged (35%) adults are more likely than their older counterparts (27%) say they would have more fun playing a board game with friends or family; and young adults (32%) are more likely than their middle-aged (24%) and older (23%) counterparts to say they would have more fun singing or dancing.

• Women (31%) are more likely than men (21%) to say they would have more fun singing or dancing; and men are more likely than women to say they would have more fun answering trivia questions (11% vs. 6%) or that they wouldn't have fun doing any of the listed activities (13% vs. 4%).

Montreal (32%) Tops List as Most Fun Canadian City

Thinking of a selected list of Canadian cities, 32% of Canadians think Montreal is the most fun, Toronto comes in second (22%) followed by Vancouver (17%), Calgary (10%), Halifax (6%), Edmonton (5%), and finally Winnipeg (3%). The remaining 4% said either none (3%) or they did not know (1%).

• Residents of Quebec are more likely to say Montreal (75%) is the most fun Canadian city; residents of Ontario are most likely to say Toronto (46%); residents of British Columbia are more likely to say Vancouver (52%); residents of Alberta are more likely to say Calgary (27%) followed closely by Edmonton (24%); residents of Atlantic Canada are more likely to say Halifax (28%) followed closely by Montreal (25%); and residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba are more likely to say Calgary (29%) (16% say Winnipeg).

Please open the attached PDF files to view the release and detailed tables.

-30-

For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900