WATER EXPORTS

14 December 1999

Consumer Behavior

This Angus Reid Group/Globe and Mail/CTV poll was conducted by telephone between November 17th and November 23rd, 1999. A total of 1,515 Canadian adults were surveyed.

These data are statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional, age and sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population. With a sample of this size, the overall results are within 1772.5 percentage points (19 times out of 20) of what they would have been had the entire Canadian adult population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population.

WATER EXPORTS

ALMOST SIX IN TEN (58%) CANADIANS FEEL THAT CANADIAN COMPANIES SHOULD BE ALLOWED TO EXPORT WATER TO OTHER COUNTRIES, BUT ONLY UNDER CLOSE GOVERNMENT REGULATION

ONE THIRD (33%) OF CANADIANS FEEL THAT CANADIAN COMPANIES SHOULD BE COMPLETELY BANNED FROM EXPORTING WATER TO OTHER COUNTRIES

8% Believe Canadian Companies Should be Allowed to export water to other countries without any restriction

Canada boasts one of the largest supplies of fresh water of any country in the world. However despite Canada's abundant supply of water and an economy heavily concentrated towards the sale of natural resources, water has yet to become a major export. In the wake of recent schemes to export water out of Lake Superior in Ontario and Newfoundland's Gisborn Lake, the federal government has drafted a national water accord to prohibit bulk exports of fresh water.

Almost six in ten (58%) Canadians would support exports but only under close government regulation. Another one third (33%) of Canadians support a complete ban on exporting water to other countries. Allowing unrestricted water exports is only supported by less than one in ten (8%) Canadians.

These are the findings of a poll undertaken by the Angus Reid Group. The poll was conducted between November 17th and November 23rd, 1999 among a randomly selected sample of 1,515 Canadian adults and has an associated margin of error of 1772.5 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

Almost six in ten (58%) Canadians feel that Canadian companies should be allowed to export water to other countries under close government regulation

Regionally, support for regulated exports is highest in Quebec (67%) and lowest in Alberta (49%).
Support for regulated export decreases from 67% among 18-24 year olds to 49% among Canadians who are 55+.
Support is consistent along gender, education and income lines.

One third (33%) of Canadians feel that Canadian Companies should be completely banned from exporting water to other countries.

Residents of Ontario (40%) are more likely than residents of other provinces to support a complete ban while residents of Quebec (25%) are less likely than residents of other provinces to support a complete ban.
Support for a complete ban increases with age. Canadians aged 18-24 show the lowest level of support (21%) while Canadians aged 55+ (45%) show the highest level of support for a complete ban.
Support is consistent along gender, education and income lines.

Less than one in ten (8%) Canadians say that Canadian companies should be allowed to export water to other countries without any restrictions.

These results are consistent across all demographic groupings.

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