Majority Of Americans (52%) Feel The World Would Be A Safer Place With John McCain As President

Toronto, ON - More than half of all Americans (52%) feel that the world would be a safer place with John McCain elected as president. This is compared to the slightly smaller percentages who feel that Hillary Clinton (45%) or Barack Obama (44%) would make the world safer, were they elected to the same office. By contrast, Canadians favour Obama (56%) and Clinton (52%) over McCain (24%) as the individuals who would make the world safer.

These findings come from a new poll conducted by Ipsos Reid on behalf of the Munk Debates; a new Canadian public debate series that seeks to elevate and enliven public discussion of the major challenges facing Canada and the world. The inaugural Munk Debate will take place in Toronto, Canada on May 26th, 2008 and see Niall Ferguson, Richard Holbrooke, Charles Krauthammer and Samantha Power debate the resolution: "be it resolved the world is a safer place with a Republican in the White House"

"These results indicate that despite the tumult and travails of the Bush administration on the world stage the Republican party has retained its traditional foreign policy advantage over Democrats among U.S. voters," said Rudyard Griffiths, the co-organiser of the Munk Debates. "Canadians however, like much of the world community, have soured on the Bush Presidency and would welcome equally a Clinton or Obama Presidency" Griffiths added.

The Munk Debates are a signature initiative of the Aurea Foundation, a charitable foundation created in 2006 by industrialist Peter Munk and his wife Melanie to support individuals and institutions involved in the study and development of public policy.

The inaugural Munk Debate on the U.S. election and American foreign policy will take place on Monday, May 26, 2008 at 6:30 P.M. at The Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. Participants in the debate include Samantha Power, a leading human rights scholar and former Barack Obama advisor; Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, the chief architect of the 1995 Dayton Peace Agreement that ended the war in Bosnia; Washington Post columnist and foreign policy expert Charles Krauthammer; and renowned British historian and award winning writer Niall Ferguson. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at www.munkdebates.com.

Survey Analysis

In the United States:

• Americans in the South (59%) and the Midwest (57%) are more likely than those in the West (44%) or the Northeast (43%) to think that John McCain would make the world safer as president.
• Men (57%) are more likely than women (47%) to feel the same way.
• Americans living in the West (55%) are more likely than those living in the Northeast (47%), the Midwest (43%), or the South (40%) to think that Hilary Clinton would make the world safer.
• Americans between the ages of 18 and 34 (50%) are more likely than those between the ages of 35 and 54 (46%) and those over the age of 54 (36%) to think that Barack Obama would make the world a safer place.
• Western Americans (52%) are more likely than Northeastern (44%), Midwestern (43%), and Southern (40%) Americans to feel the same way.

In Canada:

• Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (36%), Alberta (34%), and Ontario (34%) are more likely than Canadians living in British Columbia (27%), Atlantic Canada (25%), and Quebec (22%) to disagree that Obama would make the world a safer place as president.
• Women (56%) are more likely than men (48%) to think that Clinton would make the world safer.
• Canadians living in Ontario (28%) are most likely to think that McCain would make the world safer, followed by residents of British Columbia (26%), Alberta (26%), Atlantic Canada (24%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (22%), and Quebec (17%).
• Men (32%) are more likely than women (17%) to feel the same way.

These are the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Munk Debates from 04/07 to 04/09, 2008, in the United States and 04/08 to 04/10, 2008, in Canada. This survey of 1,000 adult Canadians and 1,005 adult Americans was conducted via telephone. With a sample of this size, the 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 population of Canada and the United States 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 Canadian and American populations 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]

Or

Rudyard Griffiths Co-Organizer The Munk Debates Public Affairs (416) 737-9626 [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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