Majority of Ontarians Opposed to Strike by Teachers

Toronto, Ontario -- A majority (56%) of Ontarians are opposed to the province's teachers going on strike. In fact, more than four in ten (43%) are strongly opposed to a strike - virtually equal to the proportion of Ontarians who either somewhat (17%) or strongly (25%) support a strike. Furthermore, fully six in ten (60%) feel that private and public sector unions have too much power in Ontario.

These are some of the findings of a Toronto Sun/Angus Reid Group poll of 1,040 adults in Ontario. The survey was conducted by telephone from October 17th to 22nd, 1997. A sample of 1040 is said to have an associated margin of error of 1773.0 percentage, nineteen times out of twenty.

Key Survey Findings:

Based on what they have seen, read or heard about a potential illegal strike by Ontario's teachers, a majority (56%) are either strongly (43%) or somewhat (13%) opposed to a strike. One quarter (25%) of respondents strongly support a strike, and another seventeen percent somewhat support it.

• Opposition levels increase significantly by age, ranging from a minority among those aged 18 to 34 (44%) to a strong majority (72%) among Ontarians over the age of 55.
• Opposition is slightly higher among more affluent respondents (61% of those with a household income of more than $60K).
• On a regional basis, opposition levels are highest in Eastern Ontario (62%) and lowest in Northern Ontario (45%). Respondents living in rural areas (63%) are more likely to oppose a strike than are those living in urban areas (53%).

The number one reason for opposing the strike, as mentioned by 46 percent of those who oppose it, is that "students will suffer". Almost one in five (17%) who oppose the strike do so because "it's illegal", and a further one in ten (10%) feel that "teachers are well paid already/overpaid". Still another eight percent feel that "teachers shouldn't have the right to strike", and an equal number feel that a strike "won't solve anything/there must be a better way".

Strike supporters feel that "they have a right to strike" (22%) or that the "government is being too dictatorial/too extreme" (22%), more than one in ten (12%) support the strike because "teachers are being overworked/longer hours", and another nine percent "don't agree with the government's plan/Bill 160 is wrong".

Fully six in ten (60%) Ontarians agree (33% strongly, 27% somewhat) that private and public sector unions have too much power in Ontario. Fewer than four in ten (38%) disagree (23% somewhat, 15% strongly).

• Those who most strongly agree that unions have too much power are respondents over the age of 55 (with 67% agreeing with the statement), and those with some post secondary education (66%).
• University graduates (50%) and residents of Northern Ontario (52%) are least likely to feel that unions have too much power in the province.

This province-wide poll was conducted by telephone between October 17th and 22nd, 1997, among a representative cross-section of 1040 adult Ontarians.

The data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's age composition reflects that of the actual provincial population according to the 1996 Census data.

With a total sample of 1040, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results are within 1773.0 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult population of Ontario been polled. The margin of error will be larger within the various sub-groupings of the survey population.

For further information, contact:

W. John Wright
Senior Vice President
Angus Reid Group, Inc.
(416) 324-2900