Trust In Harper Remains Steady

Toronto, ON - According to a new Ipsos Reid survey conducted on behalf of CanWest/Global Television, most (61%) Canadians say their trust in Prime Minster Stephen Harper has remained steady since he has been Prime Minister.

Canadians in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (30%), are the most likely to feel that their trust in the Prime Minister has decreased in the past year. This sentiment also holds true for the Atlantic provinces, with over one quarter (27%) indicating they trust Prime Minister Harper less then they did at the election, a net trust decrease of 20%. Albertans are the most likely to say their trust in Prime Minister Stephen Harper has remained the same (67%), and are least likely to indicate that their trust decreased (15%). However, they are no more likely than any of the other provinces to indicate that their trust increased.

Question: Now that Stephen Harper has been Prime Minister for more than a year, has your trust in him increased, decreased, or remained the same?

Groups who say their trust has decreased include:

• Urban Canadians indicate their trust in Prime Minister Harper has declined (24% versus 19% in Rural locations)
• Canadians with a university education are more likely to feel a decline in trust (28% vs. 20% Canadians with less than a university education)

Groups who say their trust has increased include:

• Older Canadians are more likely to say their trust in Prime Minister Harper has increased (20% of those 55+ vs. 9% of those aged 18-24)
• Canadians with an income of $60,000+ are more likely (19% vs. 10% with an income less than $60,000)
• Canadians who intend to vote Conservative (29%) and BQ (17%) say their trust has increased in the Prime Minister since the last election (vs. 8% Liberal, 7% NDP, 6% Green, 4% Other)

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid survey fielded from February 28th to March 1st, 2007. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians were interviewed via an on-line survey. With a sample of this size, the aggregate 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 each sub-grouping 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 Census data.

For more information on this press release, please contact:
Darrell Bricker
President & COO
Ipsos Reid
(416) 324-2900
[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.

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