When Senators Behave Badly and the Court of
Public Opinion Weighs In:
Three Quarters (73%) of Canadians Want Senators Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau `Immediately Suspended Without Pay'

Toronto, ON -Amid allegations of "gross negligence" on the part of Senators Duffy, Wallin and Brazeau relating to improperly filed expense claims, a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted exclusively for CTV News has revealed that three quarters (73%) of Canadians believe that these three Senators should be `immediately suspended from the Senate without pay', while just one quarter (27%) believe they should be `allowed to collect their pay and sit as Senators until the RCMP completes its investigation'.

In virtually every corner of the country a solid majority of Canadians want the Senators immediately suspended. Only in Alberta is the data less conclusive, where a slimmer majority (54%) prefers immediate suspension versus waiting until the RCMP investigation is complete (46%).

The Senate scandal has piqued the interest of Canadians, as six in ten (59%) say that they are closely (20% very/40% somewhat) following the happenings compared to four in ten (41%) who aren't paying close attention (17% not at all closely/24% not very closely). The lowest interest in this topic is in Quebec where 44% are watching it closely, while 56% are not.

Two Thirds of Canadians Believe Senate can't be Trusted to Review Senate Expense Scandal Itself...

Thinking about whether `the Senate itself can conduct a thorough and trustworthy review of issues related to the expenses of Senators', two thirds (62%) of Canadians `disagree' (32% strongly/30% somewhat) and just four in ten (38%) `agree' (12% strongly/26% somewhat) that it can. Interestingly, Quebecers (47%) - while still a minority - are most likely to believe the Senate can sort the expense situation out itself, while fewer residents of Ontario (38%), Alberta (35%), British Columbia (33%), Atlantic Canada (32%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (31%) believe this.

But a Public Inquiry on Duffy-Wright Gets Strong Support...

The scandal widened when, in his address to the Senate last week, Senator Duffy claimed that the Prime Minister knew about the now infamous personal cheque from the Prime Minister's then Chief of Staff Nigel Wright to Senator Duffy to help pay back Duffy's inappropriate expenses. The Prime Minister has claimed all along that he knew nothing about the cheque.

In this respect, just one in three (35%) Canadians `agrees' (9% strongly/26% somewhat) that they `believe Prime Minister Harper when he says he did not know about his former Chief of Staff, Nigel Wright, writing a personal cheque for $90,000 to pay back Senator Mike Duffy's inappropriate expenses'. Two thirds (65%) of Canadians appear to be in Senator Duffy's corner and `disagree' (37% strongly/28% somewhat) that they believe the Prime Minister. Those most likely to believe the Prime Minister are in Alberta (52%), while those in other parts of the country are less likely: Saskatchewan and Manitoba (38%), Ontario (36%), British Columbia (32%), Quebec (29%) and Atlantic Canada (28%). Further, while 73% of Conservative supporters believe the Prime Minister, 27% disagree that they do, suggesting this scandal could hurt his base.

A popular solution among Canadians is to hold a public inquiry into the Nigel Wright-Mike Duffy issue. Eight in ten (81%) `agree' (43% strongly/38% somewhat) that the `government should have a public inquiry', while just two in ten (19%) `disagree' (7% strongly/12% somewhat) that it should. A strong majority of Canadians of every walk of life supports a public inquiry into this scandal.

Further, only one in three (33%) Canadians `approves' (7% strongly/27% somewhat) of `how Prime Minister Harper has performed in managing the Senate issue', although this is up 3 points since July of this year. Conversely, two in three (67%) `disapprove' (32% strongly/34% somewhat) of how the Prime Minister has handled the situation. Approval of his handling is highest in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (46%), but significantly lower in Ontario (36%), Alberta (34%), Quebec (32%), Atlantic Canada (31%) and British Columbia (23%). Seven in ten (69%) Conservative supporters approve of how the Prime Minister has handled the situation, while three in ten (31%) disapprove.

Scandal Hastens Public Desire for Reform (up 14 Points since early 2013)...

Half (49%) of Canadians believe that the Senate should `be reformed to make it, for example, an elected body'--up 7 points from early in 2013 when the Senate scandal first started making headlines, with another four in ten (43%) now believing that the Senate should be `done away with completely'--also up 7 points since February.

The "status quo" faction in Canada is shrinking very quickly, with only 8% believing that the Senate should `be kept as is', down 14 points from the start of this year.

Who most likely favours reformation: women (53%), young adults aged 18 to 34 (51%), those with a university degree (60%) or some post-secondary education (51%), as well as majorities in British Columbia (53%), Ontario (53%), Alberta (51%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (51%).

Who most likely favours abolition: Atlantic Canadians (54%), Quebecers (54%), and those without a high-school diploma (60%).

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between October 25th to 28, 2013, on behalf of CTV News. For this survey, a sample of 1,102 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 +/-3.4 percentage points had all Canadians adults been polled. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

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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Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. In October 2011 Ipsos completed the acquisition of Synovate. The combination forms the world's third largest market research company.

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