The Provincial BC Liberals are viewed as the party which will provide the best support for BC's technology industry. Among Federal parties, the Liberal Party of Canada has a slight edge in perceived support for high-tech.

Vancouver--A jointly released poll today by Ipsos-Reid and the BC TIA (BC Technology Industries Association) conducted in early October 2000 indicates that Provincial BC Liberals (55%) and Federal Liberals (39%) are each viewed as political parties that would provide the best support for technology industry in BC. This is according to a jointly released poll conducted with a random selection of adults in British Columbia between October 2nd and October 8th 2000.

According to British Columbians, the provincial BC Liberals would provide the strongest support for BC's technology industry. More than half (55%) pick the BC Liberals as providing the strongest support, with the BC Reform Party at 17%, and the governing NDP in third place at 13%.

Among federal political parties, the results are much closer. The Liberal Party of Canada is cited by 39% of BC residents as the party that they feel would provide the best support for the BC technology industry followed closely by the Canadian Alliance at 34%. The Federal NDP and the Progressive Conservatives come in a distant third and fourth place at 9% and 8%, respectively.

Despite recent downturns in the stock market and investor sentiment, the public continues to believe that the high-tech sector will outshine other traditional sectors in terms of its future contribution to the economic well-being of British Columbia. When asked to choose the one sector they believe will contribute the most economic activity and jobs to the BC economy in the future, the high-tech sector is chosen by 49% of British Columbian adults. This is a slight increase over the 43% who chose the high-tech sector when asked this same question in May 2000.

Perceptions of the contribution of all other sectors are statistically unchanged from six months ago. Tourism is also expected to be a boon for the future economy, chosen by 34%, followed by the traditional resource sectors which are lower down the list of future contributors - forestry at 11%, manufacturing at 5% and only 1% choosing mining.

"The results clearly show that the high-tech sector continues to gain momentum in the public's view, and that this sector contributes far more in the minds of BC residents than its actual current contribution," says Steve Mossop, Senior Vice President of Ipsos-Reid's Western Business Unit. "The recent dampening of investor confidence does not undermine the potential that the high-tech sector holds for the long-term future of the economy as a whole."

BC residents were also asked to rate the contribution of different sectors to the overall current well-being of the provincial economy. Results show that the more traditional segments of the economy are perceived to drive the current economy, and no major changes have occurred since a similar poll last June. Respondents are more likely to see tourism as a major contributor than any other sector (chosen by over three-quarters, or 77%), followed by forestry at 61%, and exactly half (50%) of all British Columbians who believe that the high-tech sector is currently a major contributor. At the other end of the spectrum, fewer believe that manufacturing (23%) and mining (18%) are major contributors to the economy.

There is an existing perception that the BC Government is currently not doing enough to help the high-tech sector in the province. Almost two-thirds of people (65%) say that the BC Government is not doing enough to help. A further 28% feel that the current government is doing enough, and only 3% feel they are doing too much.

According to British Columbians, there are a number of issues related to doing business in the high-tech industry which constitute `barriers.' In this particular poll, respondents were asked to rate which barriers they felt were significant. Just over three-quarters (77%) of BC residents say that losing qualified employees to the U.S. and other countries is a large barrier to doing business in the high-tech sector. Related to this, 72% feel that personal taxation levels are a significant barrier. These are followed by capital gains taxation levels (60%) and corporate taxation levels (59%). Other barriers include the level of government funding for R&D (51%), recruiting qualified employees (52%) and government funding for training (52%). The ratings of these factors as barriers to doing business in the high-tech sector has not changed appreciably since they were asked of BC residents in May 2000.

"The results of this poll show that British Columbians clearly understand the importance of the high-tech sector to their future prosperity," says George Hunter, Executive Director of the BC Technology Industry Association. "The results also underscore the need for a transformation in provincial public policy to ones that are supportive of the high-tech sectors growth and development."

This jointly issued BC TIA/Ipsos-Reid study is based on 600 telephone interviews from the BC Ipsos-Reid Poll. Interviews were conducted between October 2 and 8, 2000. Respondents are chosen randomly from throughout British Columbia. The BC Ipsos-Reid Poll is a monthly omnibus survey of British Columbians. The BC Ipsos-Reid Poll is designed to provide quick and efficient answers to questions relevant to British Columbians. For additional information on the BC Ipsos-Reid Poll, please contact Steve Mossop, Ipsos-Reid Corporation at (604) 893-1609.

These data are statistically weighted to reflect the actual age and gender of the British Columbia population and are balanced by region.

With a provincial sample of 600, one can say with 95% certainty that the overall results are within ? 4.0 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire BC population been surveyed. The margin of error will be larger for sub-groupings of the survey population.

Survey Highlights

The Liberal Party of Canada and the BC Liberals will provide the best support for the BC technology industry, according to British Columbians.

• The majority of British Columbians (55%) believe that the BC Liberals will provide the best support for the BC technology industry of all provincial parties. This is followed at a distance for the BC Reform Party at 17%, the NDP at 13% and the Green Party at 3%.
• Among the Federal parties, the results to this question are much closer with a near split between the Liberal Party of Canada and the Canadian Alliance. Thirty-nine percent of BC residents feel that the Liberal Party of Canada would provide the best support for the BC technology industry followed by 34% of people picking the Canadian Alliance. The NDP comes in a distant third at 9% with the Progressive Conservatives close behind at 8%.

Tourism continues to be perceived as the key contributor to the overall BC economy in the minds of British Columbians.

British Columbians were read a list of high profile economic sectors and asked how much each was a contributor to the overall well-being of the provincial economy. Tourism is picked by most as a major contributor, followed by forestry and the high-tech sector. Manufacturing and mining come out at the bottom of the list.

• More than three-quarters of British Columbians (77%) rate tourism as a major contributor to the BC economy. Another 20% rate it as a moderate contributor while only 2% say that it is a minor contributor.
• Forestry is seen by 61% of British Columbians as a major contributor to the BC economy with 26% saying it is a moderate contributor.
• The high-tech sector comes in third place in terms of its contribution to the overall well-being of the BC economy. Fifty percent of British Columbians rate it as a major contributor. This is up from 42% in May. Another one-third rate the high-tech sector as a moderate contributor, while only 12% of people rate it as a minor contributor.
• Manufacturing and mining are rated much lower in terms of their contribution to the BC economy. Only 23% of British Columbians rate manufacturing as a major contributor to the BC economy. At the same time, 51% rate it as a moderate contributor. Only 18% rate mining as a major contributor with 34% rating it as a minor contributor.

High-tech will be the biggest contributor in the future.

British Columbians were asked which of the high profile sectors would contribute the most economic activity and jobs to the BC economy in the future. High-tech and tourism come out one and two, far above the more traditional resource sectors of mining and forestry.

• Forty-nine percent of British Columbians feel that the high-tech sector will contribute the most economic activity and jobs to the BC economy in the future. This is followed by tourism at 34%. This pattern is consistent across all regions of the province. Far below high-tech and tourism, forestry is picked to be the biggest future contributor by only 11% of people, followed by manufacturing (5%) and mining (1%).

The BC Government is not doing enough to help BC high-tech.

• Just under two-thirds of British Columbians (65%) feel that the BC Government is not doing enough to help the high-tech sector in BC. Only 28% say that the government is doing enough while few (3%) say that the government is doing too much.

The "brain drain" is the biggest barrier for the high-tech sector.

British Columbians were read a list of issues related to doing business in the high-tech sector in BC. For each, they were asked to rate how much of a barrier it is using a 7-point scale where a seven is a very significant barrier and a one is not a barrier at all. Losing qualified people to the U.S. and other countries is rated as the most significant barrier followed by personal taxation levels. However, the perceived challenges facing the high-tech sector are many. All of the issues identified were identified as significant barriers by at least half of those interviewed.

• Seventy-seven percent of those surveyed rated losing qualified employees to the U.S. and other countries as a significant barrier (a rating of a 5, 6 or 7 out of 7).
• Seventy-two percent of British Columbians rate personal taxation levels as a significant barrier. This is followed by capital gains taxation levels (60%) and corporate taxation levels (59%).
• Government funding levels are seen as being too low. Fifty-two percent of British Columbians feel that the level of government funding for training qualified people is a significant barrier to doing business in the high-tech sector. Also, 51 % feel that the level of government funding for university research and development is a significant barrier.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Steve Mossop
Senior Vice President
Ipsos-Reid Corporation
(604) 257-3200
or
George Hunter
Executive Director
BC TIA
(604) 683-6159