Jackpot! Even if They Won the Lottery, Majority (53%) of Canadians Would Continue to Work

Toronto, ON - It appears that Canadians' "Happy Dance" doesn't necessarily involve tangoing past the boss, with a new Ipsos Reid poll of Canadian workers conducted on behalf of RBC revealing that just one third (35%) of Canadians would quit their current job and retire immediately upon winning a lottery jackpot of $5 million. By comparison, the estimated jackpot for Super 7 on Friday, April 25, is $17 million.

However, one in ten (11%) Canadians say that they would stay at their current job without interruption, while an equal proportion (11%) indicate that they would take a leave of absence before returning to work at the same job.

As a result of their new-found wealth, some Canadians would take advantage of the opportunity to change jobs. In fact, one in eight Canadians would plan to start a new career in a completely different field or profession (13%), while nearly two in ten (17%) would use the money to start their own business.

Winning $5 million dollars would certainly give one enough money to afford rising tuition fees. To this effect, nearly one in ten (8%) Canadians say that if they suddenly became a millionaire they would go back to school. Furthermore, a small proportion (3%) of Canadians would take the time they gained from no longer having to work to start a charitable foundation.

Older Canadians (55%), Women (38%) Most Likely to Quit their Job...

One third (35%) of Canadians would quit and retire if they won $5 million in a lottery jackpot. However, not all Canadians are equally as likely to quit:

• Older Canadians, aged 45 to 65, are the most likely (55%) to say that they would quit their job and retire permanently, while 31 to 44 year olds (32%) and 18 to 30 year olds (13%) are much less likely to say that they would quit and retire.
• Unionized employees (40%) are more likely than non-unionized employees (33%) to say that they would quit and retire, and the same can be said about part-time employees (40%) when compared to full-time employees (33%).

Younger Canadians (27%), Men (20%) Most Likely to Start their Own Business...

Nearly two in ten (17%) working Canadians say that they would use their fortune to start a new business. However, the desire to be entrepreneurial in this instance does not appear to be equally shared among all Canadians:

• Younger working Canadians, aged 18 to 30, are more likely (27%) than workers aged 31 to 44 (19%) or those aged 45 to 65 (10%) to indicate that they would start their own company.
• Men (20%) have a higher propensity than women (15%) to indicate that they would start their own business if they won $5 million in the lottery.
• Those who currently work in the private sector (20%) are more likely than those who are employed in the public sector (15%) to say that they would retire if they won a $5 million lottery jackpot.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of RBC from Nov 5 to Nov 15, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 2052 adult Canadians employed in either full-time or part-time work was interviewed online. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1772.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult working population 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.

About 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 2007, Ipsos generated global revenues of e927.2 million ($1.27 billion U.S.).

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