Running On Empty: Canadians' Views On Higher Prices At The Gas Pump

Toronto, ON: Most Canadians (68%) believe that the recent rapid rise in gas prices are not temporary, with 37% believing "prices will get even higher", according to a new Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail/CTV survey released today. Only three in ten Canadians (31%) believe that these high gas prices "are temporary and will fall".

These higher gas prices are having an impact on Canadians' spending habits, two-thirds (65%) say that the recent price increases in gas have "caused financial cutbacks in other spending that they would normally do for themselves and their family" (20% "a lot" of cutbacks, 29% "some", 16% "a little"). Conversely, one-third (35%) of Canadians say that the higher gas prices have had no impact.

But when Canadians are asked to consider from a list of five possible reasons what they think is most responsible for higher gas station prices, no clear culprit emerges. The largest portion of Canadians (35%) believe these higher gas prices have developed because "oil and gas companies are working together to gouge consumers and jack up their profits". Other reasons for higher pump prices at the pump are less strongly supported:

• One-quarter (25%) of Canadians believe "oil producing countries in the Middle-East are punishing the US and other countries for their involvement in Iraq";

• 15% point to "growing demand from developing countries like China forcing oil and gas demand and the prices up everywhere";

• 10% believe "it's costing more because we don't have enough infrastructure to refine the oil and keep up with demand" and;

• 9% believe "we're running out of oil and it is causing the prices to go up now and forever".

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted between May 28th and May 30th, 2004. For the telephone survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians was interviewed. 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 weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 2001 Census data.

Most Canadians (68%) Believe Higher Gas Prices Are Permanent- 37% Believe Prices Will Get Even Higher...

Most Canadians (68%) believe that the recent rises in gas prices are permanent - with 31% believing the "current prices are here to stay" and 37% believing "prices will get even higher". Only three in ten Canadians (31%) believe these "high prices are temporary and will fall". The remaining 1% of Canadians "don't know" if these higher gas prices will stick or not.

• Residents of British Columbia (78%) are the most inclined to believe that higher gas prices are not going away, followed by residents of Quebec (71%) and Ontario (69%), Atlantic Canada (61%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (57%), and Alberta (56%).

• Residents of Quebec (44%) and British Columbia (42%) are the most likely to believe that "prices will get even higher", followed by residents of Atlantic Canada (38%), Alberta (33%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (33%), and Ontario (32%).

• Albertans (43%) are the most likely to believe that "high prices are temporary and will fall", followed by residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (41%), Atlantic Canada (34%), Ontario (30%), Quebec (29%), and British Columbia (21%).

• Younger residents aged 54 and under are significantly more likely than those aged 55 and over to believe that gas prices "will get even higher" (41% vs. 28%).

And These Higher Gas Prices Are Denting Wallets - Two-Thirds Of Canadians (65%) Say Recent Price Increases Have Caused Them Financial Cutbacks For Their Family...

Higher gas prices are having an impact on Canadians' spending habits - two-thirds (65%) say that the recent price increases in gas have "caused financial cutbacks in other spending that they would normally do for themselves and their family" (20% "a lot", 29% "some", 16% "a little"). Conversely, one-third (35%) of Canadians believe that in terms of financial cutbacks on their family spending, the higher gas prices have caused them "none" (35%).

• Canadians who live in rural areas are significantly more likely to believe that these higher gas prices have caused them to make financial cutbacks on family spending (74% vs. 62%).

• As annual household income level rises the propensity to believe that these higher gas prices are causing financial cutbacks on family spending abates (72% among those with an annual household income of less than $30,000, 67% with $30,000 to less than $60,000, and 57% with $60,000 or more).

• Those with a university degree are significantly less likely than those without a university degree to believe that higher gas prices are causing them to make financial cutbacks in their family spending (54% vs. 69%).

But No Clear Consensus Among Canadians As To What Is Causing These High Gas Prices...

But when Canadians are asked to consider from a list of five possible reasons what they think is most responsible for higher gas station prices, no clear culprit emerges. The largest portion of Canadians (35%) believe the higher prices have come about because "oil and gas companies are working together to gouge consumers and jack up their profits".

Other reasons for higher prices at the pump are less enthusiastically supported:

• One-quarter (25%) of Canadians believe "oil producing countries in the Middle-East are punishing the US and other countries for their involvement in Iraq";

• 15% point to "growing demand from developing countries like China is forcing oil and gas demand and the prices up everywhere";

• 10% believe "it's costing more because we don't have enough infrastructure to refine the oil and keep up with demand" and;

• 9% believe "we're running out of oil and it is causing the prices to go up now and forever".

Of the remaining 5% of Canadians, 4% believe that "none" of the possible reasons cited are most responsible for higher gas prices, and 1% "don't know" what is most responsible for the higher gas prices.

• Residents of Quebec (47%) are the most likely to believe that "oil and gas companies are working together to gouge consumers and jack up their profits", followed by residents of Ontario (34%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (33%), and Alberta (33%), then British Columbia (26%), and Atlantic Canada (22%).

• Older respondents aged 35 and up are significantly more likely to believe that the oil and gas companies are colluding in this manner (39% vs. 28%).

• Residents of Atlantic Canada (40%) are the most inclined to believe that "oil producing countries in the Middle-East are punishing the US and other countries for their involvement in Iraq", followed by residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (29%), British Columbia (27%), Ontario (26%), Quebec (22%) and Alberta (15%).

• Women are significantly more likely than men to believe that oil-producing countries in the Middle-East are punishing the US and other countries for their involvement in Iraq (31% vs. 20%).

• Residents of British Columbia (20%) are the most apt to believe that "growing demand from developing countries like China is forcing oil and gas demand and the prices up everywhere", followed closely by the rest of the provinces: Alberta (15%), Ontario (15%), Quebec (14%), Atlantic Canada (13%), and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (11%).

Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

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