TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwired - Sept. 11, 2015) - A new poll shows 83 per cent of Ontario voters oppose Premier Wynne's plan to sell 60 per cent of Hydro One, and half say they are less likely to vote for Liberal candidates in the upcoming federal election because of it.
"This poll shows that in just over four months, there's been a 20-point jump in opposition to Wynne's plan to sell Hydro One," said Katrina Miller, spokesperson for the Keep Hydro Public coalition, which commissioned the poll, "and we are seeing that it could hurt federal Liberal candidates at the ballot box on October 19th."
The poll, conducted by Environics Research, found that 48 per cent said they were "less likely to vote Liberal" in the federal election on October 19th in light of the Ontario Liberal plan to sell most of Hydro One. The coalition has stated that it plans to keep the issue alive throughout the election. Members and supporters of the coalition are in communities across the province, distributing information, holding meetings and working with municipal leaders to pass local resolutions opposed to the sell-off. "What's clear is that public opposition is going to rise and voters are now looking to hold someone to account," said Miller.
The poll is being released just prior to the return of the Ontario legislature on Monday, where Premier Wynne will again face questions about the Hydro One sell-off from opposition parties. Progress on the sale appears to have stalled over the summer, leaving some to speculate that the government may be having second thoughts or may be facing unforeseen difficulties.
"Voters know privatizing Hydro One is just too costly - we will see our bills go up, government revenues go down and public accountability disappear," Miller said. "It's time for Premier Wynne to listen to the vast majority of Ontario and keep Hydro One public."
Environics Research conducted a telephone survey of 1041 residents of the Ontario, 768 of which were reached on their landlines and 273 on their cell phones. The survey was conducted on September 2, 2015, using Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology, and the results were weighted by age and gender. The margin of error for a sample of 1041 yields results which can be considered accurate to within plus or minus 3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Keep Hydro Public, is a broad coalition of over 20 community, environment, labour and student organizations that are committed to working to keep Hydro One fully publicly owned and accountable.
Polling results available upon request.
Contact Information:
647-272-5024