As Tory Hits Hustings for March 5 Vote, McGuinty Liberals Have Large Provincial Lead

Toronto, ON -- As John Tory officially hits the hustings leading up to a by-election on March 5, 2009 that could put him back in the Ontario Legislature as the Official Leader of the Opposition, a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Canwest News Service and Global Television has revealed that Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and his Liberal Party continue to have a large province-wide lead over the other parties.

Despite a struggling economy and the Premier's admission that tough decisions are on the way due to declining government revenue that will expand a growing deficit, if a provincial election were held tomorrow his Liberal party would receive the support of 45% of decided voters, unchanged since June of 2008.

This compares to the Progressive Conservatives at 29% support (unchanged), who have not had their leader in the House since he failed to win a seat in the October 2007 election.

The NDP under outgoing leader Howard Hampton would receive 16% of the vote (up 1 point), while the Green Party currently led by Frank de Jong would receive 10% (down 1 point).

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for Canwest News Service and Global Television from January 13 to January 22, 2009. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 800 adults living in Ontario was interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 1773.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult population living in Ontario 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 that the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Ontarian population according to Census data.

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.

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

About Ipsos
Ipsos is a leading global survey-based market research company, owned and managed by research professionals. Ipsos helps interpret, simulate, and anticipate the needs and responses of consumers, customers, and citizens around the world.

Member companies assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media. They measure public opinion around the globe.

Ipsos member companies offer expertise in advertising, customer loyalty, marketing, media, and public affairs research, as well as forecasting, modeling, and consulting. Ipsos has a full line of custom, syndicated, omnibus, panel, and online research products and services, guided by industry experts and bolstered by advanced analytics and methodologies. The company was founded in 1975 and has been publicly traded since 1999.

In 2007, Ipsos generated global revenues of e927.2 million ($1.27 billion U.S.).

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