Public Opinion Re: Chrйtien and Day Scandals

Toronto, ON - The results of an Ipsos-Reid/CTV poll released today show that despite his ongoing attacks, a majority (54%) of Canadians want Joe Clark to "drop the issue" when it comes to the questions he keeps raising about the Prime Minister's actions surrounding a loan for a friend. Also, in the wake of the recent announcement that Stockwell Day will personally repay some of the damages from his libel suit, only a quarter (25%) say that their opinion of him has improved, while 50 percent say that their opinion is "no better or worse".

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/CTV poll conducted between March 8th and March 10th, 2001. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 803 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.5 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.

Majority (54%) of Canadians Want Clark to "Drop the Issue" Concerning the Prime Minister's Actions in Securing Loan for Friend

Joe Clark continues to publicly criticize the Prime Minister's actions in securing a government loan for a friend despite Jean Chrйtien having been cleared by the federal ethics commissioner. Now, a majority (54%) of Canadians say that Joe Clark should "accept the opinion of the ethics commissioner and drop the issue". In contrast, 43 percent say that Joe Clark should "continue to raise public questions about the circumstances surrounding the loan".

• Atlantic Canadians (64%) are the most likely to say that Clark should "drop the issue" while Albertans (41%) are the least likely to say he should "drop the issue".
• Women (59%) are much more likely than Men (49%) to say Clark should drop the issue.

Only One-Quarter (25%) Say their Opinion of Day is Better After He Agreed to Personally Pay Part of Damages From Libel Suit - Most (50%) Say it Has No Impact

Only 25 percent of Canadians say their opinion of Stockwell Day is better (5% "much better", 20% "somewhat better") after he decided to personally pay $60,000 of the almost $800,000 in damages paid by the Alberta government to settle a libel suit against him. Most Canadians (50%) say their opinion of Day is "no better or worse", while one-in-five (20%) say their opinion of him is worse (8% "much worse", 12% "somewhat worse").

• Albertans are no more or less likely than residents of other provinces to say their opinion of Day is better or worse.
• Men (27%) are more likely than women (22%) to say their opinion of Day is better.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Public Affairs>
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900