Edmonton Civic Issues September 2001

Residents (67%) Think City Should Review Program and Service Efficiencies, Not Raise Taxes; Razor Thin Majorities Oppose Amalgamation (53%) and Leaving Smoking Decisions up to Restaurant Owners (51%)

Aspiring Mayoralty and Council Candidates Need to be Strategic and Critical Thinkers (82%)

Edmonton, AB - In a new Ipsos-Reid/Edmonton Sun/CFRN poll, Edmontonians identify roads and infrastructure (20%) as the top of mind most important issue facing the city today. In terms of contributing to a good quality of life, residents (85%) rate emergency services such as ambulance service as most important. Other personal and financial security issues are also seen as important contributors to a good quality of life, including safe streets (78%), an effective police force (77%) and a positive economic climate (75%).

Residents (67%) believe their municipal government should not raise taxes, and should instead review the efficiency of existing programs and services. Edmontonions are split, however, on issues such as amalgamation (45% support, 53% oppose) and letting restaurant owners decide if there will be smoking in their establishments (47% support, 53% oppose).

Finally, with a municipal election less than a month away, residents (82%) think candidates aspiring to be mayor or a councillor should be a "strategic and clinical thinker." And, "business experience" (63%) is seen as more important than "political experience" (38%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Edmonton Sun/CFRN poll conducted between August 29th and September 5th, 2001. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 400 adult Edmontonians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 4.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Edmonton 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 Edmonton population according to the 1996 Census data.

Roads and Infrastructure (20%) the Most Important Issue Facing Edmonton Today

One-in-five (20%) Edmontonians cites roads and infrastructure as a top of mind most important issue facing Edmonton today. This places roads and infrastructure well ahead of issues such as property taxes (11%), inter-personal crime (11%), education (11%), health care (11%) and the fast growth of the city (10%). Other top of mind issues frequently mentioned by residents include energy/fuel prices (8%), public transit (7%), housing (7%) and property crime (6%).

Emergency Services Such as Ambulance (85%) Most Critical to Quality of Life. Also Important are Safe Streets (78%), Police Force (77%) and Economic Climate (75%)

Edmonton residents select personal and financial security aspects of city life as most important in contributing to a good quality of life. At the top of the list is "emergency services such as ambulance services" - rated as important (6 or 7 on a 7 point scale) by 85% of Edmontonians. Other highly important aspects or features of city life include "streets I feel safe to walk in" (78%), "an effective police force that is capable of maintaining order" (77%) and "a positive climate for economic growth and job opportunities" (75%).

Aspects or features of city life that residents see as less important include "a municipal government that provides enough funding for arts and community events" (27%) and "world-class events that attract tourists and attention from around the world" (29%).

A full list of aspects and features of city life, along with the percentage of Edmontonians who rate them as important contributors to a good quality of life is shown below:

• Emergency services such as ambulance services (85% important)
• Streets I feel safe to walk in (78% important)
• An effective police force that is capable of maintaining order (77% important)
• A positive climate for economic growth and job opportunities (75% important)
• Green spaces, city parks, and recreation facilities (65% important)
• An efficient and well maintained road system (64% important)
• Fair and reasonable property taxes and municipal fees (62% important)
• An efficient public transit system (54% important)
• An efficient and accessible LRT (Light Rail Transit) system (43% important)
• World-class events that attract tourists and attention from around the world like the world track and field championships (29% important)
• A municipal government that provides enough funding for arts and community events (27% important)

Residents (67%) Think City Should Review Program and Service Efficiencies, Not Raise Municipal Taxes

Edmontonians generally oppose raising municipal taxes in order to maintain current levels of service. Instead, they want the city to conduct a review of how programs and services are being delivered. Two-in-three (67%) residents think that "the city should not raise municipal taxes and should review the programs and services being delivered to ensure they are being delivered with an optimum level of efficiency." One-third (32%) of Edmontonians, however, side more with the viewpoint that they "don't mind paying a bit more in taxes to maintain a reasonable level of service."

Support for reviewing how programs and services are being delivered instead of raising taxes is consistent across all demographic groups.

Razor Thin Majorities Oppose Amalgamation (53%) and Leaving Smoking Decisions up to Restaurant Owners (51%)

Residents are divided on the issue of amalgamating small bedroom communities around metro Edmonton that are populated by people who largely work in Edmonton and not in the communities where they live. A slim majority (53%) opposes this amalgamation and want to leave things the way they are now. These residents share the view that "there is no need to amalgamate all of these communities into one municipality - things are just fine the way they are." An almost equal number (45%) of residents support amalgamation and take the view that "all of these communities should be amalgamated into one city so that the City of Edmonton can properly afford to pay for the infrastructure that supports their travel into the metro area every day."

• Residents aged 35 years and older are more likely than younger residents to support amalgamation (49% vs. 36%).
• Support for amalgamation is higher with men than with women (52% vs. 38%).
• Higher income residents ($60K+) are more supportive than other residents (51% vs. 41% among

  Edmontonians are also split on the recent debate regarding allowing smoking in restaurants. A razor thin majority (51%) says that Edmonton restaurant owners SHOULD NOT be allowed to decide if there will be smoking in their establishments. These residents side more with the mayor and city councillors who have argued that similar legislation has been enacted in other cities with no long-term effect on local businesses, and furthermore that customers should not be put at risk of encountering second-hand smoke.

  Slightly fewer than half (47%) of residents say that Edmonton restaurant owners SHOULD be allowed to decide if there will be smoking in their establishments. These residents side more with restaurant owners who have argued that the by-law is costing them customers and is costing them money for renovations that comply with the by-law.

  • Support for allowing restaurant owners to make the choice is higher with residents who have a high school education or less (60% vs. 43% among those with at least some post-secondary).
  • Support tends to decline with household incomes. Fifty-two percent of residents with household incomes of less than $60,000 support owners making the choice, compared with 36% of those with household incomes of more than $60,000.

  Aspiring Mayoralty and Council Candidates Need to be Strategic and Critical Thinkers (82%)

  Eight-in-ten (82%) Edmonton residents believe that being a strategic and critical thinker is an important (6 or 7 on a 7 point scale) attribute for a candidate aspiring to be mayor or councillor. Other attributes perceived to be important by a majority of residents include having business experience (63%) and being an accomplished speaker (54%). Less important attributes are volunteer activities (35%), political experience (38%) and governance experience (40%).

  For more information on this news release, please contact:

  Marc Henry
  Vice- President
  Public Affairs
  Ipsos-Reid
  (780) 944-9164