Majority of Canadians say federal government not providing adequate healthcare funding to provinces

TORONTO, Oct. 18, 2019 /CNW/ - Over two-thirds (68 per cent) of Canadians believe the federal government does not provide enough healthcare funding to the provinces, according to a new Ipsos poll.

The national survey conducted on behalf of the Schroeder Policy Group reveals three-quarters (73 per cent) of Canadians support the federal government increasing the Canada Health Transfer by six per cent instead of the current three per cent per year.

"Healthcare is on life support, yet it has been all but absent in this election," says Walter Schroeder, founder of the Schroeder Policy Group. "Federal politicians are ignoring the most important issue for most Canadians. We say enough is enough."

Eight in ten Canadians (84 per cent) say overall healthcare wait times are too long – 45 per cent say much too long while 39 per cent say a little too long. Fifteen per cent find wait times to be reasonable.

Dr. Geoff Fernie, an advisor to the Schroeder Policy Group says, "if the federal government raised the cap from 3 per cent to 6 per cent, we would not have the limits on operating time we currently have, and we could make progress clearing waiting lists."

But, raising the cap from 3 per cent to 6 per cent requires funding. Canadians are most likely to support the following strategies to find that funding:

• Taxing large corporations operating in Canada (91 per cent)
• Cutting back on government bureaucracy (87 per cent)
• Reducing grants to large business in Canada (85 per cent)
• Increasing corporate taxes (79 per cent)
• Taking funds from carbon taxes (76 per cent)

"All political parties have promised to go after unpaid taxes.  Most want a carbon tax, some propose to increase corporate taxes, others to tax companies like Facebook or Amazon that aren't paying taxes right now. They have all said they will collect more money, and Canadians are clear that they want it to go to healthcare," adds Schroeder. "Our federal leaders need to listen and take action."

Support for increasing the federal deficit or cuts in federal services receive little support:

• Increase in federal deficit/debt (33 per cent)
• Reduction in federal services (28 per cent)

About the Schroeder Policy Group
The Schroeder Policy Group is committed to providing informed and credible, non-partisan policy recommendations on some of the biggest challenges facing the country. Founded by Walter Schroeder, it seeks to bring together some of the best economists and experts in Canada, to ensure that in this election, our political leaders are asked the right questions. It is a third party registered with Elections Canada in the 2019 federal election.

About the Study
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between October 8^th to 15^th, 2019, on behalf of the Schroeder Policy Group. For this survey, a sample of 2000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error. Read the full study: https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/Two-In-Three-Canadians-Believe-Provinces-Do-Not-Receive-Adequate-Federal-Healthcare-Funding

About Ipsos
Ipsos is the world's third largest market research company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people.

Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.

Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).

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SOURCE Schroeder Policy Group