Social programs a budget priority for Cdns.: poll
Updated Sun. Mar. 18 2007 11:28 PM ET
CTV.ca News Staff
On the eve of the March 19 federal budget, a new poll suggests only a minority of Canadians want the government to cut taxes, while half want Ottawa to spend more on social programs.
The Strategic Counsel conducted the survey between March 10-13 for CTV News and The Globe and Mail.
Economists have said Ottawa's planning surplus could reach $8 billion for the next fiscal year, and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty is expected to include several tax cuts in the federal budget.
"It will reinforce the image voters have that these guys are pretty solid fiscal managers who care about the rich, but really don't have a common touch in synch with the general public mood," Strategic Counsel chairman Allan Gregg told CTV.ca.
When respondents were asked what they thought to be the most important issue for the budget to address, social programs were the clear favourite:
* Increasing spending on social programs: 50 per cent
* Cutting taxes: 19 per cent
* Transferring funds to the provinces for their use: 15 per cent
* Reducing debt: 13 per cent.
"Canadians are experiencing right now something that we refer to as 'joyless prosperity,'" said Gregg.
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