ONLY FOUR-IN-TEN (37%) CANADIANS SAY THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS DONE ENOUGH TO STIMULATE THE ECONOMY IN ORDER TO AVOID SLIPPING INTO RECESSION

Toronto, ONTARIO - As Canadians head into the New Year, a new Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail/CTV poll released today indicates that four-in-ten (37%) feel that the Federal government has done enough to stimulate the economy in order to avoid the country slipping into a recession as has happened in the United States. Six-in-ten (59%) feel that not enough has been done in this area.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail/CTV poll conducted between December 18th and December 20th, 2001. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. 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 Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

Four-in-ten (37%) feel that the Federal government has done enough to stimulate the economy in order to avoid the country slipping into a recession as has happened in the United States.

• Residents of Quebec (43%) and Ontario (40%) are more likely than those in other regions to say the government has done enough to stimulate the economy. Alberta (36%), Atlantic Canada (35%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (32%) follow, while British Columbians (21%) are least likely to express this view.
• Canadians in the highest household income bracket (42%) are more likely than their counterparts in the lowest (32%) and middle (35%) household income groups to say enough has been done by the federal government to stimulate the economy.
• Younger (42%) Canadians are more likely than older (37%) or middle aged (33%) Canadians to this way.
• Men (41%) are more likely than women (33%) to feel enough has been done by the government in this area.

While six-in-ten (59%) say that the federal government has not enough in this area.

• Regionally, residents of British Columbia (72%) are more likely to say that not enough has been done to stimulate the economy. This compares to residents of Ontario (56%) and Quebec (54%) who express this feeling.
• Those in the middle (61%) and lowest (62%) household income group are more likely than Canadians in the highest (55%) household income group to express this view.
• Canadian women (63%) more often express this view than Canadian men (55%).
• Middle aged (63%) are more likely to feel that not enough has been done to stimulate the economy than younger (56%) or older (57%) Canadians.

To view the complete media release and tables, please download the attached PDF files.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
Darrell Bricker
President and COO
Public Affairs
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900

Darrell Bricker