FEDERAL ELECTION POLL NOVEMBER 4, 2000 Jean Chrétien
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FEDERAL ELECTION POLL NOVEMBER 4, 2000 Jean Chrétien (36%) Leads the Other Federal Leaders as the Leader that Canadians Think Would Make the Best Prime Minister of Canada 50% of Canadians Say the "Party's Stand on the Issues" is the Most Important Consideration in Making up their Mind - 26% Say the "Ability of the Party Leaders" and 22% Say the Individual Candidates 55% of Canadians Agree that the Alliance is "Too New and Inexperienced to be Trusted to Run our Government"- 43% Agree that "the Liberals are Arrogant and Need to be Defeated in this Election to be Taught a Lesson" Public Release Date: November 4, 2000 at 6:00 a.m. EST Established in 1979, Ipsos-Reid is Canada’s leading market research and public opinion company. It is best known for the Angus Reid Express poll, the most widely quoted source of public opinion in the country. Founded by Dr. Angus Reid, Ipsos-Reid has conducted extensive market and social research in 80 countries and in 40 languages, and serves clients around the world through more than 300-professionals and 1,000 data collection staff in ten offices. The company is a member of the Paris-based Ipsos Group, ranked among the top ten research companies in the world, with specialties in advertising, media, customer satisfaction, public opinion and market research. Visit www.ipsos-reid.com For copies of other news releases, please visit http://www.angusreid.com/media/content/PRE_REL.cfm © Ipsos-Reid New York ● St. Louis ● Minneapolis ● San Francisco Vancouver ● Calgary ● Winnipeg ● Toronto ● Ottawa ● Montreal FEDERAL ELECTION POLL NOVEMBER 4, 2000 Jean Chrétien (36%) Leads the Other Federal Leaders as the Leader that Canadians Think Would Make the Best Prime Minister of Canada 50% of Canadians Say the "Party's Stand on the Issues" is the Most Important Consideration in Making up their Mind - 26% Say the "Ability of the Party Leaders" and 22% Say the Individual Candidates 55% of Canadians Agree that the Alliance is "Too New and Inexperienced to be Trusted to Run our Government"- 43% Agree that "the Liberals are Arrogant and Need to be Defeated in this Election to be Taught a Lesson" Toronto, Ontario -- Amid a tightening race between the Liberals (42%) and the Alliance (29%) a plurality (36%) of Canadians say that of the current federal party leaders, Jean Chrétien would make the best Prime Minister. When it comes to voting, a majority (50%) say that the party's stand on the issues is the most important consideration when they are making up their mind. A quarter (26%) say that the ability of the party leaders is the most important consideration while just more than one in five (22%) say the qualities of the individual candidates in their constituency is the most important factor in making up their minds. In terms of attitudes towards the parties, 55% of Canadians agree that "the Alliance Party is too new and inexperienced to be trusted to run © Ipsos-Reid New York ● St. Louis ● Minneapolis ● San Francisco Vancouver ● Calgary ● Winnipeg ● Toronto ● Ottawa ● Montreal our government" and 43% agree that "the Liberals are arrogant and need to be defeated in this election to be taught a lesson." These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail/CTV poll conducted between October 27th and November 1st, 2000. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 2,500 adult Canadians. The results are accurate to within ± 2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire Canadian population been surveyed. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. The data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data. Jean Chrétien (36%) Leads the Other Federal Leaders as the Leader that Canadians Think Would Make the Best Prime Minister of Canada When Canadians are asked regardless of party which of the party leaders would make the best Prime Minister, Jean Chrétien (36%) emerges as the top choice. Stockwell Day (29%) comes in second place while Joe Clark (14%) comes in third. Alexa McDonough is chosen by 8% of Canadians while 6% say Gilles Duceppe. 8% of Canadians say they "don't know." Regionally, Stockwell Day is ahead of Jean Chrétien in BC (44% vs. 30%), Alberta (58% vs. 19%) and Saskatchewan (47% vs. 24%). In contrast, Chrétien is ahead of Day in Ontario (45% vs. 24%), New Brunswick (43% vs. 23%), PEI (52% vs. 19%) and Newfoundland (55% vs. 16%). While Chrétien is ahead in Manitoba, it is the province where the gap between the Liberal and Alliance leaders is the closest (31% for Day, 38% for Chrétien). In Quebec, Chrétien (29%) is still the top choice but in second place is Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe (21%). A similar situation is evident in Nova Scotia, where Chrétien (41%) is ahead but Joe Clark (20%) and Alexa McDonough (19%) are running neck and neck for second © Ipsos-Reid New York ● St. Louis ● Minneapolis ● San Francisco Vancouver ● Calgary ● Winnipeg ● Toronto ● Ottawa ● Montreal place. Women (38%) are more likely than men (33%) to say that Jean Chrétien would make the best Prime Minister while men (34%) are more likely than women (24%) to say that Stockwell Day would make the best Prime Minister. Younger Canadians (42%) are more likely than middle aged (36%) or older (29%) Canadians to say that Jean Chrétien would make the best Prime Minister. In contrast, older Canadians (34%) are more likely than middle aged (28%) or younger (25%) Canadians to say Stockwell Day would make the best Prime Minister. 50% of Canadians Say the "Party's Stand on the Issues" is the Most Important Consideration in Making up their Mind - 26% Say the "Ability of the Party Leaders" and 22% Say the Individual Candidates When it comes to which of the three following factors: a party's stand on the issues, the party leader or the quality of individual candidates is most important to Canadians in making up their minds, 50% say the party's stand on the issues is the most important. For a quarter (26%) of Canadians the ability of party leaders is the most important consideration, while one in five (22%) say the qualities of individual candidates in their constituencies is the most important consideration. This trend is consistent across almost all provinces. However, Newfoundland distinguishes itself as the only province where the party's stand on the issues is not the most important consideration. Instead, the bulk of Newfoundlanders (44%) say the qualities of the individual candidates is the most important followed by the party's stand on the issues (33%) and finally the ability of the party leaders (22%). © Ipsos-Reid New York ● St. Louis ● Minneapolis ● San Francisco Vancouver ● Calgary ● Winnipeg ● Toronto ● Ottawa ● Montreal 55% of Canadians Agree that the Alliance is "Too New and Inexperienced to be Trusted to Run our Government"- 43% Agree that "the Liberals are Arrogant and Need to be Defeated in this Election to be Taught a Lesson" As the parties jockey for position, the poll tested many of the arguments being made during the campaign. As Stockwell Day and the Alliance begin their first national election campaign, a majority of Canadians (55%) agree with statement "the Alliance Party is just too new and inexperienced to be trusted to run our government" including 29% who say they "strongly agree" and 26% who say they "somewhat agree". Meanwhile, against the backdrop of an early election call, 43% of Canadians agree that "the Liberals are arrogant and need to be defeated in this election to be taught a lesson" (25% "strongly agree", 18% "somewhat agree"). As controversy emerges surrounding the Alliance's healthcare plans, 43% agree with the statement "Stockwell Day and the Alliance have a hidden agenda". This includes 21% who say they "strongly agree" and 23% who "somewhat agree" with the statement. In contrast, less than three in ten (29%) Canadians agree that "Prime Minister Chrétien is too old to perform effectively as Prime Minister for another term" (17% "strongly agree", 12% "somewhat agree"). Interestingly, older Canadians (38%) are much more likely to agree with this statement than middle (28%) or younger (20%) Canadians. Finally, two thirds (66%) of Canadians disagree with the statement "I don't like any of the parties that we have to choose among in this election" (38% "strongly disagree", 28% "somewhat disagree") © Ipsos-Reid New York ● St. Louis ● Minneapolis ● San Francisco Vancouver ● Calgary ● Winnipeg ● Toronto ● Ottawa ● Montreal -30- For more information on this news release, please contact: Darrell Bricker President and COO Public Affairs Ipsos-Reid (416) 324-2900 For full tabular results, please visit our website at www.ipsos-reid.com. © Ipsos-Reid New York ● St. Louis ● Minneapolis ● San Francisco Vancouver ● Calgary ● Winnipeg ● Toronto ● Ottawa ● Montreal.