Most Canadians see Economic Action Plan ads as Tory advertising or a waste of money

OTTAWA — Four years after the Conservative government launched its first Economic Action Plan advertising, a new poll suggests that Canadians have become jaded to the continuing barrage of radio and TV commercials.

More than half of those surveyed this week reacted negatively to the ads, calling them either political advertising, a waste of taxpayers’ money, or “junk.”

The interactive voice-response poll by Forum Research found that only about one respondent in ten thought the widely-broadcast ads were just part of normal government communications.

The Conservative government has been blanketing the Internet, newspapers and radio and television airways with the ads since 2009, along with the distinctive blue and green signs posted next to government-funded infrastructure projects.

Respondents to the poll most often characterized the campaign as political advertising for the Conservative Party (30%), while 24 per cent called them “a waste of taxpayers’ money” and 12 per cent denounced them as “more commercial junk.”

Forum Research’s findings are consistent with Finance Canada’s own tracking polls, which found increasing numbers of respondents considered the ads “propaganda” and a “waste of money,” according to a Canadian Press report last month.

The exact amount the government has spent on the ads is unclear. In the first year of the ad blitz, 2009-10, the government reported spending $52.3 million on EAP ads, according to the Canadian Press, but more recent figures are not available.

The ads have frequently been the subject of outrage from Opposition parties, who accuse the Conservatives of promoting their political brand through taxpayer-funded advertising.

Not surprisingly, Conservative Party supporters were more likely to react favourably to the ads compared to those who support opposition parties, the Forum Research survey found. One in five Conservatives thought the ads conveyed important information.

Overall, 64 per cent of Conservatives approved of the ads, with disapproval expressed by 66 per cent of Bloc Québécois supporters, 57 per cent of New Democrats and 53 per cent of Liberals.

Approval rates ran higher among Albertans, those who ended their education in high school and people earning between $60,000 and $80,000 annually.

Past federal governments have also faced allegations they used tax dollars to promote their political objectives, most famously the Liberals under Prime Minister Jean Chrétien over the scandal-ridden sponsorship program in Quebec.

The poll sampled the opinions of 1,755 Canadians over the age of 18. It is considered accurate within 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Original Article
Source: canada.com
Author: GLEN MCGREGOR