Despite statistics that show major crime incidents in Canada are declining, the Conservative Party’s “˜get tough on crime’ platform seems to be resonating with the Canadian public.
In an exclusive Global National, Post Media poll, 57% of Canadians surveyed believe that “˜the prison expansions are a worthwhile initiative’, compared to 43% who are closer to the opinion that “˜the prison expansion is unaffordable’.
The Harper Government’s push for new crime legislation has been criticized by opposition parties, saying it will cost billions of dollars that should be spent on crime prevention instead. The feds have been asked to release the cost estimates of their legislation, who so far have refused, citing cabinet confidence and therefore cannot be made public.
The Ipsos Reid poll revealed that eight in ten Canadians believe the government should release the cost estimates if the opposition parties are demanding them. Only 18% believe “˜the figures should be kept secret if the government says they should be’.
Other details:
Prison Expansion More Controversial Among Some Demographics…
While six in ten (57%) Canadians, overall, believe the prison expansions are a worthwhile initiative, the idea is more controversial among some groups than others.
“¢ Those without a high-school diploma (69%) are considerably more likely than those with a diploma (61%), some postsecondary education (53%) or a university degree (50%) to believe the expansions are worthwhile. In fact, half (50%) of those with a degree believe the expansions are not affordable.
“¢ Men (60%) are more likely than women (54%) to believe that the expansions are worthwhile.
“¢ Those aged 55 and older (61%) are most likely to believe this is a good policy, compared to fewer Canadians aged 35 to 54 (57%) or 18 to 34 (52%).
“¢ Residents of Alberta (73%) are by far the most likely to support the expansions, while those living in British Columbia (63%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (61%), Ontario (55%), Quebec (51%) and Atlantic Canada (51%) are less likely.
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between February 15 to 17, 2011, on behalf of Postmedia News and Global National. For this survey, a sample of 1,097 adults from Ipsos’ Canadian online panel was interviewed online, with an estimated margin of error of +/-3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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