The Smelliest Place in Canada: The Prairies

Toronto, ON - Canadians have voted with their noses and the anticipated smelliest province or region in the country after three or four hot days this summer is the Prairies--Manitoba and Saskatchewan--according to a new poll released today by Smell Grabber. Next in the stinky hall of fame was Ontario followed by Atlantic Canada, British Columbia, Quйbec and Alberta.

Noting the hot summer days ahead, Canadians were asked to imagine that there were 3 or 4 days straight of 30 degree Celsius or more heat and to consider a number of places in or around their own residence that could give off an odor. They were then given a list of 10 things and asked to indicate to what extent they believed these could get smelly during the heat - really smelly, somewhat smelly, not really smelly or not at all smelly. (If they didn't have a particular item they just put in "not at all smelly".)

The 10 things Canadians were asked to rate during this heat wave were:

• Your bathroom/toilet area
• Your pet's litter box
• Your garbage can or communal garbage bin/chute
• Your refrigerator
• Your basement
• The outside air in your community
• A sports bag for the gym/hockey/baseball
• A diaper pail
• Carpets or area rugs
• Kids' bedroom

The average total smell (really smelly/somewhat smelly) on the national stinkometer was 42.7% representing the combined percentage for each item divided by the number of categories (10) with the net shown for each province/region: the Prairies (Manitoba/Saskatchewan at 46%) followed by Ontario (44.8%), Atlantic Canada (43.2%), British Columbia (41.5%), Quйbec (41.2%) and Alberta (37.8%).

The Stinking Categorical "Winners"...

Based on the combined metric of "really smelly" and "somewhat smelly" (respondents were also given the options of selecting "not really smelly" and "not at all smelly"), each of the categories was assessed as follows with the national average also shown:

Garbage can or communal garbage bin/chute (79%): Prairies (91%) followed by British Columbia (83%), Ontario (79%), Quйbec (76%), Alberta (75%) and Atlantic Canada (71%).

A sports bag for the gym/hockey/baseball (65%): Prairies (70%) followed by Ontario and British Columbia (both at 66%), Quйbec and Atlantic Canada (both at 65%) and Alberta (62%).

A diaper pail (64%): Quebec (70%) followed by Ontario and Atlantic Canada (both at 64%), the Prairies (63%), British Columbia (62%) and Alberta (59%).

Your pet's litter box (57%): Prairies (61%) followed by Atlantic Canada (59%), Quйbec (58%), Ontario (57%), Alberta (54%) and British Columbia (52%).

The outside air in your community (36%): Ontario (41%) followed by the Prairies (37%), Quйbec (35%), Alberta and Atlantic Canada (both at 31%) and British Columbia (30%).

Carpets or area rugs (29%): Quebec and Atlantic Canada (both at 32%) followed by Ontario (31%), the Prairies (29%), British Columbia (25%) and Alberta (21%).

Your bathroom/toilet area (29%): Prairies (40%) followed by British Columbia and Atlantic Canada (both at 32%), Ontario (31%), Quйbec (22%) and Alberta (21%).

Your basement (26%): Ontario (32%) followed by Atlantic Canada (29%), the Prairies (28%), Quйbec (25%), Alberta (19%) and British Columbia (17%).

Kids' bedroom (25%): Atlantic Canada (31%) followed by the Prairies and Ontario (both at 29%), British Columbia (24%), Alberta (21%) and Quйbec (16%).

Your refrigerator (17%): British Columbia (24%) followed by Ontario and Atlantic Canada (both at 18%), Alberta (15%), Quйbec (13%) and the Prairies (12%).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between May 13 to 20, 2014, Smell Grabber. For this survey, a sample of 1022 Canadians, from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within +/-3.5 percentage points had all adults in Canada been surveyed.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice President
Ipsos Reid
Public Affairs
416.324.2002
[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.

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