NHL Tax Cuts

Public Release Date: Embargoed until Monday, November 22 at 9:00pm (EDT)

This National Angus Reid Group/Globe and Mail/CTV poll is based on a national telephone survey conducted between November 4th and November 14th, 1999 among a representative cross-section of 1,500 Canadian adults. These data are statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional, age and sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to 1996 Census data.

With a national sample of 1,500, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the overall results are within +2.5 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger for other sub-groupings of the survey population.

Over the last several months there has been much discussion about the future of the six remaining Canadian NHL franchises. The crisis was largely precipitated by the threat made by Rod Bryden, owner of the Ottawa Senators, that unless he receives some tax relief he will move the Senators to the United States. The teams contend that the small markets in which they operate and the heavy tax burden that Canadian teams face makes it difficult for them to survive. Many politicians and stakeholders have championed tax relief as a way to curb the trend of Canadian teams migrating to the U.S for higher profits. A trend which began with the move of the Quebec Nordiques to Colorado and the Winnipeg Jets to Phoenix. An Angus Reid / Globe and Mail / CTV poll released tonight indicates that Canadians are not on side with this initiative. Fully, 62% of Canadians disagree with giving tax cuts to Canadian-based NHL teams.

These are the highlights gleaned from a national Angus Reid Group/Globe and Mail/CTV telephone survey of 1,500 Canadian adults. Interviews were conducted between November 4th and November 14th, 1999. A sample size of 1,500 is said to have a corresponding margin of error of +2.5 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Mike College
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(613) 241-5802