Majority (55%) of Canadians Say Pellet Guns Should Be Banned Outright

Toronto, ONTARIO - After a number of recent incidents involving pellet guns including a drive-by shooting in which a 6-year-old was hit in the eye, a majority (55%) of Canadians believe that pellet guns are dangerous and should be banned outright according to a new Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll released today.

A higher proportion (70%), however, agrees with the view that pellet guns should be treated like other guns, where you need a licence to own and use one.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll conducted between July 22nd and July 24th, 2003. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,038 adult 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 2003 Census data.

When asked, a majority (55%) of Canadians agree with the view that `pellet guns are dangerous and should be banned outright.' Almost as many Canadians strongly agree (39%) with this position as in the total who disagree (44%).

• Regionally, Quebec (64%) residents along with those in Ontario (58%), Atlantic Canada (57%), and British Columbia (51%) lead in agreement. This compares to the views of those in Alberta (41%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (30%).
• There is a strong divide on this question between those who live in urban and rural areas of the country. Significantly more urban Canadians (58%) agree with this proposition than do rural Canadians (44%), whereas rural Canadians (55%) are significantly more likely to disagree with this idea than urban Canadians (41%).
• Older (63%) Canadians are significantly more likely to agree to an outright ban of pellet guns than do their middle-aged (54%) or young adult (48%) counterparts.
• There also appears to be a gender gap on this topic, with women (66% versus 43% of men) more likely to agree with an outright ban, while men (57% versus 33% of women) are more likely to express disagreement.

A higher proportion (70%), however, express agreement with the position that `pellet guns should be treated like other guns, where you need a licence to own and use one.' In fact, a majority (53%) strongly agree with this proposition. In total, three in ten (30%) disagree with this idea.

• A majority in each region of the country agrees with this proposition, with the highest level of agreement found among residents of Ontario (74%), Atlantic Canada (74%), and Quebec (73%), followed by British Columbia (62%), Alberta (61%), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (53%).
• While a majority in both urban (71%) and rural (63%) Canada express agreement, urban Canadians are significantly more likely to agree than are rural Canadians. Conversely, rural Canadians (37%) are significantly more likely to disagree than are urban Canadians (28%).
• Once again, women (80%) are significantly more likely to agree with this view than are men (58%). And men (41%) are twice as likely as women (19%) to disagree with this position.
• Although a majority in each household income group agrees with the idea, Canadians from lowest income households (76%) are significantly more likely than are their counterparts in the highest income households (65%) to agree with this position.

To view the release and detailed tables, please open the attached PDF files.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900