Only Two in Ten (20%) Ontarians Familiar with Concept of Public-Private Partnerships (P3) to Fund Infrastructure

Toronto, ON - Just two in ten (20%) Ontarians say they are `familiar' (5% strongly/15% somewhat) with the term Public-Private Partnerships, or a P3 deal, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of OPSEU. Most (80%) admit that they're `not familiar' (59% not at all/22% not very) familiar with the term.

Moreover, most (71%) `disagree' (32% strongly/39% somewhat) that they're aware of what infrastructure projects the government undertakes on its own, and which projects involve a Public-Private Partnership. Only three in ten (29%) `agree' (3% strongly/26% somewhat) that they are aware. This has likely informed some of the opinions of the majority (64%) who `disagree' (20% strongly/44% somewhat) that the federal government is transparent about how much infrastructure projects built using P3 deals will cost taxpayers, while only 36% `agree' (6% strongly/30% somewhat) that it has been transparent in this regard.

In a typical P3 Project, a government contracts private companies to finance and build infrastructure projects (i.e. water treatment, nursing homes, hospitals, transportation infrastructure, etc), with the private-sector business then running the new infrastructure as a for-profit business. But most (77%) Ontarians say they are not aware of the federal government's plan to fund some of its infrastructure projects using P3 deals, while only 23% are.

Support for P3s...

On the face of it, and admittedly without much knowledge of P3 deals among most Canadians, seven in ten (70%) Canadians `support' (9% strongly/61% somewhat) the use of Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) in Canada to build, maintain, and/or run infrastructure developments in Canada, while three in ten (30%) `oppose' (8% strongly/22% somewhat). Interestingly, support is higher for P3s among those who express familiarity with the concept (76%) coming into the poll than among those who don't (68%).

However, at the end of the survey, upon learning that the Auditor General of Ontario has recently found that P3 deals have cost the province nearly $8 billion in extra costs versus what it would have cost had the Ontario government successfully built the projects itself, support for P3s drops to just 25% (3% strongly/22% somewhat) , while three quarters (75%) `oppose' (40% strongly/35% somewhat) the use of P3s to build, maintain and/or run infrastructure developments in Canada. Even among those who expressed familiarity with concept prior, support drops to just 46%, compared to 20% of those who are not familiar with P3s.

Prior to learning about the Auditor-General's report, Ontarians were equally split on whether they `agreed' (51% total - 4% strongly/47% somewhat) or disagreed (49% total - 11% strongly/37% somewhat) that `P3s are in the best interests of Canadians'.

Furthermore, six in ten (59%) `agree' (7% strongly/52% somewhat) that `the government should use the P3 model to fund upcoming major infrastructure projects', while four in ten (41%) `disagree' (9% strongly/32% somewhat) that it should. However, most (80%) `agree' (20% strongly/60% somewhat) that `when interest rates are low, the government should use its own money or borrowing/financing, not P3s, to fund Canadian infrastructure projects'. Just two in ten (20%) `disagree' (3% strongly/17% somewhat) with this position.

Financial Implications of P3 Deals...

Given that awareness of P3s is quite low, it's understandable that Canadians have mixed views on the financial implications for this type of financing (all of which was captured before the question regarding the Auditor General's findings). For example, from the building of the infrastructure to the operation of the infrastructure, 37% believe that this type of financing costs the public more, while 22% believe that it inevitably cost the public less. Four in ten (40%) believe it's no different than if the government were to fund, build and operate the infrastructure itself.

Further opinions about P3s are seen below:

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between November 7 and 10, 2016, on behalf of OPSEU. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 in Ontario from Ipsos' online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/ - 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Ontario adults been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
(416) 324-2002

About Ipsos

Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry. With a strong presence in 87 countries, Ipsos employs more than 16,000 people and has the ability to conduct research programs in more than 100 countries. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is controlled and managed by research professionals. They have built a solid Group around a multi-specialist positioning-- Media and advertising research; Marketing research; Client and employee relationship management; Opinion & social research; Mobile, Online, Offline data collection and delivery. Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999. www.ipsos.com

• Seven in ten (72%) `agree' (20% strongly/52% somewhat) that `P3s are short sighted - they may save on the building costs, but they ultimately cost Canadians more down the road because government doesn't own the infrastructure'. Three in ten (28%) `disagree' (4% strongly/24% somewhat) with this position.
• Six in ten (62%) `agree' (8% strongly/54% somewhat) that `P3s use money more efficiently than infrastructure developments run solely by government', while four in ten (38%) `disagree' (8% strongly/30% somewhat).
• Six in ten (59%) `agree' (14% strongly/45% somewhat) that `P3s add unnecessary costs to major infrastructure projects', while four in ten (41%) `disagree' (4% strongly/37% somewhat).
• Seven in ten (71%) `agree' (19% strongly/52% somewhat) that `P3s give private companies and investors too much control over how public infrastructure dollars are spent', while three in ten (29%) `disagree' (4% strongly/25% somewhat).