For Immediate Release Four-City Public Opinion Poll

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CANADIAN CITIES

Calgary and Vancouver Praised by Citizens for Services, Environment

People in Toronto and Montreal are more critical of their municipal governments, but laud diversity and culture respectively.
[TORONTO - Jul. 13, 2012] - Residents of Canadas four largest cities appear mostly content with their quality of life, but identify different problems in their respective municipalities, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion public opinion poll has found. The online survey of representative samples in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal was conducted for City Age Media. The full findings will be presented at The Innovation City, a conference to be held on Jul. 18 and 19 at the MaRS Discovery District in Toronto. City Problems Respondents to this survey were provided with a list of eight problems or concerns, and asked which one is the most important in their own community today. One third of Vancouverites (33%) said affordable housing is their main concern, while a similar proportion of Torontonians (32%) mentioned traffic and transit. Montrealers and Calgarians were more worried about health care and hospitals (25% and 23%

KEY FINDINGS
Main Concerns in Canadian Cities: Affordable housing in Vancouver (33%), Traffic / Transit in Toronto (32%), Health care / Hospitals in both Montreal (25%) and Calgary (23%)

City Governments Doing a Good Job: Calgary 62%, Vancouver 42%, Toronto 28%, Montreal 22% Most Calgarians (90%) perceive their city "on the rise" compared to 60% in Toronto
Full topline results are at the end of this release.
From July 9 to July 11, 2012, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 402 randomly selected adults in the City of Vancouver, 401 randomly selected adults in the City of Calgary, 401 randomly selected adults in the City of Toronto, and 407 randomly selected adults in the City of Montreal who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of errorwhich measures sampling variabilityis +/- 4.9% for each city. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current age and gender and Census data to ensure a sample representative of the entire adult population of each city. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

CONTACT: Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

For Immediate Release Four-City Public Opinion Poll

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respectively). Traffic was the second biggest problem in Calgary (21%), while Vancouverites mentioned homelessness and poverty (14%). Unemployment and crime were both regarded as a worry for 13 per cent of Torontonians. Municipal Governments Three-in-five Calgarians (62%) say their current municipal government is doing a very good or good job. Vancouver was second among the cities surveyed at 42 per cent, while Toronto (28%) and Montreal (21%) were the lowest ranked. Two-in-five Montrealers (42%) said their government is doing a very bad job right now. Despite this fluctuation in the government question, at least three-in-five respondents across all cities are satisfied with their quality of life (Montreal 75%, Toronto 80%, Vancouver 82%, Calgary 87%). There is also an evident sense of belonging from residents, which is particularly strong in Toronto, where 87 per cent of respondents say the word Torontonian best describes who they are. Choosing city over province was also prevalent for Vancouverites (80%) and Calgarians (75%), but fewer Montrealers (59%) concurred. City Issues When city residents assessed the way their respective governments are handling 11 different issues, Calgary had the highest rating on seven of them: promoting tourism (78%), ensuring public safety (72%), enhancing quality of life (60%), responding to the needs of citizens (57%), giving citizens an opportunity to have their say on issues that matter to them (56%), dealing with homelessness and poverty (45%), and being accountable (49%). Montreal is the clear winner on fostering artistic and cultural activities (73%), while Calgary and Vancouver were virtually tied on protecting the environment (Calgary 65%, Vancouver 63%), and providing good sanitation services (Calgary 84%, Vancouver 82%). It is important to note that no city reached the 30 per cent mark on implementing policies to help small businesses. Toronto and Montreal received very low ratings on dealing with homelessness and poverty (20% and 18% respectively) and being accountable (26% and 23% respectively). Descriptions of the City Respondents to this survey were provided with a list of words that could be used to describe their city. The responses were mostly positive in all cities. Calgary is the overall leader on six categories. Its
CONTACT: Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

For Immediate Release Four-City Public Opinion Poll

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residents regard it as a city on the rise (90%), a livable city (89%), a place where you can find a good job (88%), a good city to start a business (75%), a city that embraces innovation (73%), and a city that is connected and has accessible digital infrastructure (71%). Torontonians believe their city is enriched by diversity (90%), is a global financial centre (79%) and has top-tier educational opportunities (76%). Montrealers regard their city as a cultural capital (83%), affordable (64%) and with extraordinary public transit (56%). Vancouver is seen by its residents as a city that embraces sustainability (72%) and a world class city (71%). There was a tie on being a city that embraces newcomers (Toronto and Montreal at 86%). The biggest drawback across the four cities surveyed is infrastructure. Calgary and Vancouver are ahead of the 40 per cent mark, but Montreal (35%) and Toronto (27%) hold lower numbers. There are also some severe fluctuations on specific topics, such as the low rating for Montreal on being a city on the rise (41%), a paltry showing for Toronto on having extraordinary public transit (27%) and a negligible proportion of Vancouverites who feel their city is affordable (7%). Learn about our electoral record / Consult our surveys / Follow us on Twitter About Angus Reid Public Opinion Angus Reid Public Opinion is a public affairs practice headed by Dr. Angus Reid: an industry visionary who has spent more than four decades asking questions to figure out what people feel, how they think and who they will vote for. A team of talented and experienced practitioners with a unique and profound understanding of global issues conduct high quality research throughout the world on a daily basis for corporations, governments, academic researchers, and non-profit organizations. About Vision Critical Vision Critical is a global research and technology firm that creates software and services solutions for over 600 clients, including one third of the worlds top 100 brands. The company has offices across North America, Europe and Australia as well as a Global Partner Program that provides other research companies and consultants with access to top-of-the-line technology. Its Sparq product is the most widely adopted community panel platform on the planet.

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For more information, please contact our spokesperson listed in the footnote.

CONTACT: Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

For Immediate Release Four-City Public Opinion Poll

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Canadian Cities What do you feel is the most important problem or concern in your own community today?

VANCOUVER

CALGARY

TORONTO

MONTREAL

Unemployment

8%

4%

13%

7%

Crime / Violence / Gangs

7%

10%

13%

7%

Education / Schools

5%

11%

5%

10%

Health care / Hospitals

7%

23%

10%

25%

The environment

6%

4%

4%

7%

Traffic / Transit

11%

21%

32%

15%

Affordable housing

33%

12%

10%

12%

Homelessness and poverty

14%

3%

6%

10%

Other issue

6%

7%

4%

7%

Not sure

2%

4%

3%

1%

CONTACT: Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

For Immediate Release Four-City Public Opinion Poll

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Canadian Cities Overall, do you think the current municipal government is doing a good job or a poor job?

VANCOUVER

CALGARY

TORONTO

MONTREAL

Very good job

5%

6%

3%

1%

Good job

37%

56%

25%

21%

Bad job

29%

22%

45%

21%

Very bad job

14%

6%

16%

42%

Not sure

15%

9%

10%

14%

Canadian Cities Overall, would you say you are satisfied or dissatisfied with the quality of life in your city?

VANCOUVER

CALGARY

TORONTO

MONTREAL

Satisfied

82%

87%

80%

75%

Dissatisfied

17%

13%

20%

25%

Not sure

1%

0%

1%

0%

CONTACT: Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

For Immediate Release Four-City Public Opinion Poll

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Canadian Cities Do you think the current municipal government is doing a good job or a poor job in each of the following issues? Very good job and Good job listed

VANCOUVER

CALGARY

TORONTO

MONTREAL

Enhancing your overall quality of life Protecting the environment Ensuring public safety Fostering artistic and cultural activities Providing good sanitation services (garbage, sewage, water) Dealing with homelessness and poverty Promoting tourism Implementing policies to help small businesses Giving citizens an opportunity to have their say on issues that matter to them Responding to the needs of citizens Being accountable

45% 63%

60% 65%

32% 36%

30% 49%

59%

72%

52%

56%

53%

67%

34%

73%

82%

84%

75%

55%

33%

45%

20%

18%

60%

78%

47%

59%

23%

27%

22%

27%

38%

56%

40%

33%

39% 34%

57% 49%

31% 26%

28% 23%

CONTACT: Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

For Immediate Release Four-City Public Opinion Poll

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Canadian Cities Do you think each of the following describes your city? Definitely describes and Probably describes listed

VANCOUVER

CALGARY

TORONTO

MONTREAL

A place where you can find a good job A livable city A city with top-tier educational opportunities A global financial center A good city to start a business in A city that embraces innovation A city enriched by diversity A city that embraces sustainability A city that is on top of its infrastructure needs A city on the rise A city that embraces newcomers A city with extraordinary public transit A city that is connected and has accessible digital infrastructure A city that is affordable A world class city A cultural capital

45% 77% 69% 26% 32% 61% 86% 72%

88% 89% 74% 61% 75% 73% 81% 58%

64% 84% 76% 79% 57% 50% 90% 50%

69% 82% 62% 39% 52% 66% 84% 46%

41% 70% 66%

42% 90% 83%

27% 60% 86%

35% 41% 86%

43%

31%

27%

56%

63%

71%

60%

55%

7% 71% 48%

31% 64% 52%

23% 65% 76%

64% 61% 83%

CONTACT: Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

For Immediate Release Four-City Public Opinion Poll

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Canadian Cities
VANCOUVER

Which of the following words best describes who you are?

Gender TOTAL Vancouverite 80% Male 76% Female 83% 18-34 81%

Age 35-54 81% 55+ 76%

British Columbian

20%

24%

17%

19%

19%

24%

Canadian Cities
CALGARY

Which of the following words best describes who you are?

Gender TOTAL Calgarian 75% Male 72% Female 78% 18-34 80%

Age 35-54 75% 55+ 67%

Albertan

25%

28%

22%

20%

25%

33%

CONTACT: Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

For Immediate Release Four-City Public Opinion Poll

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Canadian Cities
TORONTO

Which of the following words best describes who you are?

Gender TOTAL Torontonian 87% Male 85% Female 89% 18-34 85%

Age 35-54 89% 55+ 86%

Ontarian

13%

15%

11%

15%

11%

14%

Canadian Cities
MONTREAL

Which of the following words best describes who you are?

Gender TOTAL Montrealer 59% Male 60% Female 57% 18-34 57%

Age 35-54 56% 55+ 67%

Quebecer

41%

40%

43%

43%

44%

33%

CONTACT: Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion, 877-730-3570, mario.canseco@angus-reid.com