Ipsos Reid recently released their latest survey on public opinion towards public-private partnerships (PPPs) and views on PPPs in certain sectors in Canada. The survey-“Building Canada’s Future: Canadian Attitudes to Public-Private Partnerships“-is published in conjunction with the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships. Ipsos Reid first conducted this poll in 2004, and since the last poll in 2008 several interesting trends emerged that show support for PPPs is on the rise.
Survey highlights include:
- Two thirds of Canadians support the use of PPPs to deliver infrastructure and some public services
- 93% of Canadian public-sector union members feel that government cannot keep pace with their country’s infrastructure needs, 5% higher than the general population (at 88%)
- Public support for private sector involvement is highest in hospital services (73%), roads (71%) and recreation (74%)
- Public support for private sector involvement is lowest in water (53%), electricity (57%) and sewage (58%).
- Support in Ontario surged from 56% in 2008, to 64% in 2010
- PPPs are supported by 74% of people aged 18-29, the highest of any age group
Telephone polling of 2,002 Canadians was conducted in September 2010 with a margin of error of + 2.2%, 19 times out of 20.
Reason Foundation has written extensively about PPPs in transportation, that material is available here.
Harris Kenny is a research assistant at Reason Foundation