Do You Have Any Plans For New Year's Eve?

Toronto, ON - A new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global National finds that Canadians have lots of choices to celebrate New Year's Eve and, when compared to what they were doing almost a decade ago (1998), there are more who will likely be spending time having a quiet evening at home (40%) than there were 10 years back (32%). Maybe it's because we have more baby boomers, or maybe it's just because we want to be more secluded with that loved one to celebrate the ringing in of the new year, but it's just one of the comparative changes that have taken place over the last decade.

• Of the 40% who are spending a quiet time at home, they are most likely to be in British Columbia (49%), followed by Alberta (46%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (44%), Ontario (43%) and Atlantic Canada (41%). Notably, Quebecers are least likely to be having a quiet evening at home (28%).
• More women (43%) than men (38%) will be spending some quiet time as the clock strikes midnight
• It would appear that older Canadians (49%) and middle aged Canadians (44%) are more likely to be having a quiet time at home compared with the younger generation (26%).

One quarter (25%) of Canadians indicate that this year they will attend a New Year's Eve party at someone else's home, or have a party for themselves. This is down six points from 31% almost 10 years ago.

• Whereas Quebecers were least likely to be spending a quiet evening at home, they are most likely to be attending a New Years Eve party in someone else's home or having a party themselves, with four in 10 (37%) Quebecers partying with a roof over their heads compared with those in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (25%) who are next in line, and with those from Alberta and Atlantic Canada (24%), followed by those in Ontario at 21% and British Columbia at 17%.
• Men (28%) or more likely than women (23%) to be in this category and it's the younger (31%) and middle aged (26%) who are most likely to be doing this activity compared with older Canadians (18%)

One in 10 (11%) Canadians say that they will be out to dinner with a small group of friends or family -- down from 16% in 1998. This is most likely to be the case in Alberta (15%) followed by Atlantic Canada (12%), British Columbia and Quebec (11%), Ontario (10%) and finally in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (6%). All the age groups and all of the genders (11%) share this activity.

Only 6% of Canadians indicate that they will be going out to a large celebration at a hotel, community club or convention Center -- down from 8% in 1998. The most likely place to be having a large celebration will be in Atlantic Canada (10%) followed by Ontario (7%), Alberta (6%) and British Columbia/Saskatchewan/Manitoba/Quebec (5%).

• Not surprisingly, it will be the younger generation (9%) compared with the middle aged (4%) and the older (5%) generations who will be doing this.

A small number (5% -- down from 7% in 1998) say they will be going out of town for New Year's Eve (and the most likely to do so are in Saskatchewan/Manitoba/Quйbec at 7%, and those being younger at 8%), while an even smaller number (3% compared with 2% in 1998) will be attending an event such as the theatre, a concert or a hockey game.

One in ten Canadians (10%) say they will be up to `other things' compared with 9% who said a decade ago that they would be doing something `other' (5%) or `nothing in particular' (4%). In both time frames only 1% indicated they didn't know what they would be doing.

Only three in 10 Canadians (29%) indicated they will be making any New Year's resolutions for 2008. Those most likely to make New Year's resolutions are in the province of Quйbec (37%) followed by Ontario (31%), British Columbia Atlantic Canada each at 24%, Alberta at 19% and Saskatchewan/Manitoba resolutely resolved at 15%. It would also appear that the younger generation (38%) and the middle aged Canadian revellers (30%) are more likely than the older generation (20%) to make resolutions -- with men (27%) and women (30%) being pretty even in their resolution commitments.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television from Dec 11 to Dec 13, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1001 adult Canadians was 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 population of Canada been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

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.

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

Ipsos
Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies 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. They measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999. In 2006, Ipsos generated global revenues of 857.1 million euros ($1.1 billion USD).

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

Ipsos, listed on the Eurolist of Euronext - Comp B, is part of SBF 120 and the Mid-100 Index, adheres to the Next Prime segment and is eligible to the Deferred Settlement System. Isin FR0000073298, Reuters ISOS.PA, Bloomberg IPS:FP