More Americans (73%) Than Canadians (69%) Have Read a Book in Past Year

Toronto, ON - When a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CanWest News Service and Global Television is compared with the findings of an identical poll conducted by Ipsos in the United States this past August, the results reveal that more Americans (73%) than Canadians (69%) have read a book in the past year.

In fact, nearly one third (31%) of Canadians have not read a book in the past year, meaning that just seven in ten (69%) Canadians have had a chance to do so.

• Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (78%), British Columbia (76%) and Alberta (71%) are most likely to have read a book in the past year, while those living in Ontario (69%), Atlantic Canada (66%) and Quebec are less likely (62%).
• Younger Canadians (72%) are more likely to say that have read a book in the past year, while middle-aged (68%), aged 35 to 54, and older Canadians (67%) are less likely to say that they have done this. Women (75%) are much more likely than men (62%) to say that they have read a book in the past year.

However, in terms of how many books Canadians are reading vis-а-vis their American counterparts, both Canadians and Americans who have read at least one book in the past year have read an average of 20 books.

But Canadians are not equal in the number of books that they have read this year. Among those who have read at least one book, British Columbians have read on average 33 books this past year, the average resident of Atlantic Canada (22 books), Ontario (19 books), Alberta (18 books), Quebec (16 books) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (15 books) has read fewer books.

Thinking about the types of books that Canadians have read in the past year, the books that Canadians are reading are most likely to be popular fiction (56%) and mystery/thriller novels (56%), followed by non-fiction history books (46%), biographies (45%), the bible or other religious texts (38%) or romance novels (26%). Some interesting comparisons across the country from among those who have read at least one book reveal:

• Popular fiction appears to be most-often read in Quebec (60%), and least in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (48%).
• British Columbians seem to like their mysteries or thrillers (62%) the most, while residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are less thrilled by these types of books (48%).
• Many more Albertans (60%) than Atlantic Canadians seem to prefer non-fiction history books than do Atlantic Canadians (34%).
• Albertans are much more likely to have read the bible or other religious text (56%) than are Quebecers (19%).
• Quebecers (34%) are more likely to have read romance novels than are Albertans (21%).

In the United States, though, the Bible or other religious texts appear to be the most-often read books (64%), followed by popular fiction (54%) and non-fiction history books (54%), biographies (48%), mystery/thriller novels (48%) or romance novels (21%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of CanWest News Service and Global Television from Dec 11 to Dec 13, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1001 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 of Canada 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]

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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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