Despite Criticism on Handling of Syrian Refugee Crisis,
Tories Lead on Issue

Toronto, ON - Despite a concentrated attack by the Liberals and NDP, amplified by media, pundits and others over the Syrian refugee crisis and the Canadian government's perceived slow response, a new Ipsos poll has revealed that, of the three party leaders, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has the most support to deal with the issue and that many eligible Canadian voters appear reluctant to take in a significant number of refugees or to fast-track the process given security concerns.

Four in ten (38%) Canadians believe that Stephen Harper and the Conservatives would `make the best decision for Canada on the Syrian refugee situation', placing the Tories significantly ahead of the one in three who believe that Thomas Mulcair and the NDP (32%) or Justin Trudeau and the Liberals (30%) would be best to manage this file. Interestingly, even two in ten Liberal (18%) and NDP (15%) voters believe that the Conservatives would make the best decision for Canada.

The decision about how many refugees Canada should take in and through what process has largely been centred on the idea of security and whether the process of accepting refugees should be fast-tracked despite security concerns. On this debate, seven in ten (71%) voters more closely believe that `we can't compromise Canada's security, and individual Syrian refugees should go through proper screening to make sure they aren't terrorists even if this slows down their admission to Canada', including a majority of Tory (87%), Liberal (66%) and NDP voters (61%). On the other hand, three in ten (29%) more closely believe that `the Syrian refugee issue is a humanitarian emergency and Canada should be admitting Syrian refugees as quickly as possible even if this means we have to suspend our normal security screening provisions to make sure that individual refugees aren't terrorists'.

The poll tested various ideas that have been presented by the parties to deal with the Syrian refugee crisis. Support for taking in refugees is divided (and declines given the number of refugees proposed), although more voters support measures ranging from increased diplomatic presence in the region to increasing military support to fight ISIL.

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These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between September 11 to 13, 2015. For this survey, a sample of 980 Canadians eligible to vote was interviewed online via the Ipsos I-Say Panel. 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 +/ - 3.6 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all eligible voters been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. 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:

Darrell Bricker, PhD
CEO
Ipsos Global Public Affairs
(416) 324-2001
[email protected]

About Ipsos in Canada

Ipsos 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 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' 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 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 is an Ipsos company, a leading global survey-based market research group.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry.

With offices in 86 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across six research specializations: advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, public affairs research, and survey management.

Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of e1,669.5 ($2,218.4 million) in 2014.

Visit www.ipsos.com to learn more about Ipsos' offerings and capabilities.