NEW YEAR'S EVE AT THE END OF THE 20TH CENTURY

These data are statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional, age and sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population. With a sample of this size, the overall results are within 1772.5 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.

NEW YEAR'S EVE AT THE END OF THE 20TH CENTURY

- HALF (50%) OF CANADIANS SAY THEY HAVE MADE PLANS TO CELEBRATE THIS NEW YEAR'S EVE - 50% HAVE NOT-

- ONE QUARTER (23%) OF CANADIANS SAY THEY HAVE MADE SPECIAL PLANS TO MARK THE END OF THE 1900s -

--Four In Ten (38%) Plan To Attend A New Year's Eve Party At Someone's Home Or Have A Party Themselves, One Third (31%) Will Have A Quiet Evening At Home, 11% Will Go Out For Dinner With A Small Group Of Friends Or Family--

This New Year's Eve is the last of the 1900s. So, how will Canadians mark this occasion? Half (50%) say they "have made specific plans to celebrate this New Year's Eve". The other half (50%) have not. When asked whether they have made "special plans, given that this year's New Year's Eve will mark the end of the 1900s", most Canadians (76%) have not. Only 23% of Canadians say they have "made special plans" because this is the last of the 1900s. Hosting or attending a house party (38%) is the most commonly mentioned activity for this New Year's Eve. Others plan to "have a quiet evening at home" (31%) or "go out for dinner with a small group of friends or family" (11%). Only 10 percent indicate that they will be going "out to a large celebration at a hotel, community club or convention centre".

These are the findings of an Angus Reid Group/Globe and Mail/CTV poll conducted between December 9th and December 19th, 1999. The poll includes a randomly selected sample of 1,501 Canadian adults and has an associated margin of error of 177 2.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Half (50%) Of Canadians Say They Have Made Plans To Celebrate This New Year's Eve - 50% Have Not

Half (50%) say they "have made specific plans to celebrate this New Year's Eve". The other half (50%) have not.

• Women (52%) are slightly more likely than men (47%) to indicate that they have made plans to celebrate New Year's Eve.
• Younger Canadians are more likely to have plans for celebrating this New Year's Eve (18 to 34, 56%; 35 to 54, 50%; 55+, 42%) as are those with higher levels of household income ($60k+, 58%; $30k to $59k, 49%; Residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (39%) are least likely to have made New Year's Eve plans this year.

Three Quarters (76%) Of Canadians Say They Have Not Made Special Plans Because It's The End Of The 1900s

With all of the millennium flurry in the media, it is interesting to find that 76% of Canadians say they have not made any "special plans, given that this New Year's Eve will mark the end of the 1900s". One quarter (23%) have made special plans because this is the last year of the 1900s.

• Atlantic Canadians (31%), those with household incomes of $60,000 or more (27%) and single people without children who live with a roommate (34%) are most likely to say they have made special plans because this is the last year of the 1900s.

What Will Canadians Be Doing On New Year's Eve 1999?

Hosting or attending a house party (38%) is the most commonly mentioned activity for this New Year's Eve. Others plan to "have a quiet evening at home" (31%) or "go out for dinner with a small group of friends or family" (11%). Only 10 percent indicate that they will be going "out to a large celebration at a hotel, community club or convention centre". Few Canadians plan to go out of town for New Year's Eve (6%), go to an outdoor event (2%) or go to an event like the theatre, a concert or hockey game (2%). Two percent of Canadians also say they will be working on New Year's Eve.

• Quйbecers (53%) are far more likely to be planning "to attend a New Year's Eve party at someone's home or have a party themselves" than the national average (38%).
• Young Canadians (aged 18 to 34, 45%), Canadians with a household income of more than $30,000 (40%), single adults without children who live with family or their parents (49%) and singles without children who live with a roommate (43%) are most likely to say they are planning to host or attend a house party.
• Residents of British Columbia (40%), Canadians who are aged 55+ (40%), those with a household income of less than $60,000 (33%), single parents (42%) and married or common-law Canadians with children (37%) are most likely to say they will be spending a "quiet evening at home" this New Year's Eve.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(416) 324-2900