New Pre-Budget Poll Confirms Sustained Opposition to Tuition Fee Increases

Canadian Federation of Students Ontario

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

New pre-budget public opinion polling data was released today by the Canadian Federation of Students. The data confirm that a majority of Ontarians continue to be opposed to the McGuinty government's Reaching Higher plan for higher tuition fees.

"Thousands of Ontario students took to the streets in protest on February 7 to remind Premier McGuinty of the widespread opposition to his conservative policy of high tuition fees and student debt," said Jesse Greener, Ontario Chairperson of the Canadian Federation of Students. "These poll results confirm that more than two-thirds of Ontario voters think that students are right to be calling McGuinty's cancellation of the tuition fee freeze a broken promise."

One thousand Ontarians were interviewed by Feedback Research Corporation about their attitudes on the McGuinty government's post-secondary education policy following the National Student Day of Action and in the lead-up to the presentation of the 2007 Ontario Budget. The poll focused on the affordability of post-secondary education and the fairness of tuition fees in the province. It found that 82% of voters are concerned about the affordability of college and university education and, of those, 82% attribute that concern to the financial barriers of high tuition fees and inadequate student financial assistance.

"The results clearly indicate that voters are very concerned about this issue and that their concern is not going away," said Andre Turcotte, President of Feedback Research. "The McGuinty government better pay attention or it could pay the price in October."

This poll reports voters' opinions just months before the 2007 Ontario general election campaign will formally begin. Seventy-five percent of Ontarians agree that tuition fees should be reduced.

"Despite the McGuinty government's aggressive spin campaign about a modest grants programme and more access to debt for students who can't afford the high fees, 82% of voters remain concerned about access to university and college education," said Greener. "Students are calling on Premier McGuinty to show national leadership by committing to restore the tuition fee freeze with the 2007 budget. Keeping fees in check is the only policy that will make student financial assistance better than a debt sentence."

The Canadian Federation of Students, Canada's national students' union, unites more than 500,000 students across the country and 300,000 students in Ontario.

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Related site: Download Polling Data Slides as PDF File (click here)