Profit Gouging Behind Gas Pump Prices, Not Explanation Mishaps Say Canadians (80%)

Toronto, ON - The latest CanWest /Global News poll conducted by Ipsos Reid finds that an overwhelming number of Canadians reject the petroleum industry's explanations as to why prices have dialled up at the pump for the last number of weeks and think it's all profit seeking and nothing else.

Eight in ten (80%) Canadians think that prices at the pump have gone up in order to boost petrol industry profits compared to only 17% who accept the industry's explanations that petroleum gas pump prices have risen in various provinces over the last month or so because of a combination of circumstances, including a February 15 fire at the Imperial Oil Ltd. refinery in Nanticoke, Ontario, that halted crude oil production there, as well as a CN Rail strike and the frozen St. Lawrence Seaway slowing down delivery--to which the oil and gas companies have said that things should be back to normal by mid March.

Even Oil rich Albertans (71%) reject the industry claim and believe the petroleum industry has raised prices just to reap profits.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted for CanWest News Service/Global News and fielded from March 13-15, 2007. For this survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the aggregate 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 each sub-grouping of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to Census data.

Given A Choice, A Majority Of Canadians Say Federal Government Should Address Gas Prices, Not Bank Machines (ABM's)...

If they had the choice, seven in ten Canadians (71%) would rather the government address the price of gas instead of the one in five (18%) who say the government should do something about bank fees (an additional 7% say the government should address both).

Regionally, residents of British Columbia are most likely to say the federal government should focus on bank fees (25%), while residents of the Atlantic Canada are most likely to think the government should address gas prices (77%).

Majority (61%) Of Canadians Say Petroleum Company Presidents Should Be Called To Testify, Explain, To A Parliamentary Committee...

Almost 2/3 of Canadians (61%) would like to see an all party Parliamentary committee call the petroleum company Presidents to testify as to why prices are so high compared to one third (33%) who say calling them to testify would be inappropriate.

So, Should The Federal Government Get Back Into The Gas Pump Business?

In a word: no.

Respondents were informed that many years ago the federal government bought some oil and gas companies and created Petro-Canada. As such, the federal government became owners of a petroleum company with taxpayers' money until they sold it off in the mid-1980s. Currently, Petro-Canada is owned by private shareholders and is operated in the private sector with no government ownership.

Given three options, most Canadians (53%) say that the federal government should just regulate gas prices through legislation and should not own a petroleum company compared with a quarter (25%) who say the federal government has no business being in the petroleum business or regulating it at all and one in five (20%) who actually believe the federal government should get back into owning a petroleum company in order to control prices.

Regionally, residents of the Atlantic Provinces (34%) are most likely to say that the federal government has no business being in or regulating the petroleum industry, followed by residents of Alberta (32%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (30%). Quebec residents, meanwhile, are most likely to say that, while the federal should not own a petroleum business, it should regulate gas prices through legislation (58%).

For more information on this press release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900
[email protected]

About Ipsos Reid
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.

To learn more, please visit www.ipsos.ca.

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