Majority (58%) Side With Harper In Appointing Civilian RCMP Commissioner

Toronto, ON - With the appointment of William Elliott, a senior civil servant and bureaucrat, to the position of Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Prime Minister Stephen Harper broke with the traditional practice of promoting someone from within the force to lead the RCMP. However, a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television finds that a majority of Canadians (58%) agree that `Prime Minister Harper was right in making this appointment, because a non-police officer will see things in a fresh light and bring greater accountability and good management practices to the force, regardless of the internal RCMP support he gets.'

Conversely, three in ten (30%) Canadians believe that the Prime Minister's appointment of Mr. Elliott was wrong, because `the Commissioner should have come, as they always have, from within the RCMP', and that that a person with direct policing experience would be more likely to have the `support of the senior management and rank and file officers' of the force.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television from July 10 to July 12, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1002 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 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.

Majority (58%) Of Canadians Agree With The Prime Minister...

In his efforts to clean up the senior management of the RCMP, Prime Minister Harper has appointed William Elliot, a senior bureaucrat to be the top-dog of the force. With a majority (58%) of Canadians supporting this decision, it appears that Canadians are confident that this move might help to restore good management to the upper echelons of the force.

• Three quarters (73%) of British Columbians support Prime Minister Harper's decision, making them the most supportive region across the country. The next most likely Canadians to agree are from Quebec (59%), Ontario (57%), and Alberta (56%).
• Older Canadians, aged 55 and older, are slightly more supportive (61%) of the Prime Minister's decision than middle-aged Canadians (60%), aged 35 to 54, and younger Canadians (53%), aged 18 to 34.
• Men (63%) are considerably more supportive than women (53%) of the Prime Minister's decision to appoint Elliott to the top job of the RCMP.
• Education appears to have an effect on one's propensity to agree, with nearly two thirds (63%) of individuals with either a university degree or some post-secondary education agreeing with the Prime Minister's move, and only 54% of those with a high school diploma, and 44% of those without a high school diploma agreeing with the Prime Minister's decision.

Not All Canadians Are As Enthusiastic About The Appointment...

Despite the fact that a majority of Canadians in general support the decision of the Prime Minister, not all demographic groups are quite as favourable in their support:

• A minority of Atlantic Canadians (49%) and residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (44%) support the Prime Minister's appointment of Elliott as Commissioner of the RCMP. Still, more people in these provinces support rather than oppose the decision, with 38% opposing the decision in Atlantic Canada, and 36% opposing in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. In fact, two in ten (20%) residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba do not have an opinion either way.
• A minority (48%) of Canadians whose family income is less than $30,000 a year support the Prime Minister, however, only 35% are opposed.

For more Information on this news release, please contact:
Dr. Darrell Bricker
President and COO
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
(416) 509-8460
[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.

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