POLL EMBARGOED UNTIL 22ND MARCH 2018, 6 AM EST

WORLD
WATER DAY
22nd March 2018
METHODOLOGY ABOUT WELLINGTON WATCHERS
The analysis in this report is based on results of a Wellington Water Watchers is a non-profit
survey that was conducted between March 17th organization founded in 2007 primarily run by
to March 18th, 2018 among a sample of 2003 volunteer citizens in Guelph-Wellington who
adults, 18 years of age or older, living in Ontario. are committed to the protection of local water
The survey was conducted using automated and to educating the public about threats to the
telephone interviews (Smart IVR). Respondents watershed.
were interviews on landlines and cellular phones.
Wellington Water Watchers is committed to
The margin of error for this survey is +/- 2.23% preservation, not just conservation of water
and is accurate 19 times out of 20. resources. This means applying the precautionary
principle to prove no harm, beyond doubt, when
(full methodology appears at the end of this engaged in projects that could be harmful to our
report) water resources.

ABOUT MAINSTREET We promote tap water as a healthy and

With 20 years of political experience in all three environmentally preferable alternative to
levels of government, President and CEO Quito packaged water. Wellington Water Watchers
Maggi is a respected commentator on international seeks constructive engagement with those who
public affairs. affect local water policy, and accountability from
corporations.
Differentiated by its large sample sizes, Mainstreet
Research has provided accurate snapshots of ABOUT SUM OF US
public opinion, having predicted a majority Canada Society is a digital consumer watchdog
NDP government in Alberta, and was the only with a community of 1.5 million Canadians holding
polling firm to correctly predict a Liberal majority corporations accountable for their actions and
government in the 2015 federal election. Mainstreet forging a new, sustainable and just path for the
Research is a member of the World Association for Canadian and global economy.
Public Opinion Research and meets international
and Canadian publication standards. From polluting the environment to dodging
taxes – when left unchecked, corporations don’t
FOR ADDITIONAL SURVEY INFORMATION: let anything stand in the way of bigger profits.
In Toronto: The biggest corporations in the world rely on
Dr. Joseph Angolano, Vice President ordinary people to keep them in business. We are
joseph@mainstreetresearch.ca their customers, their employees, and often their
investors. When we act together, we can be more
powerful than they are.
New Poll: Ahead of 2018 Provincial Elections, Ontarians Want to Protect
Ontario’s Water From Bottled Water Industry
On World Water Day, SumOfUs Canada Society and Wellington Water Watchers Call on Premier
Kathleen Wynne to Protect Ontario’s Water from Nestlé Extraction

22 MARCH 2018 (TORONTO, ON)—A new poll commissioned by Wellington Water Watchers and
SumOfUs Canada Society on World Water Day finds that 64% of Ontarians, across party lines,
support phasing out bottled water extraction in the province of Ontario within 10 years. Of those,
the great majority support a phase out within two years (52%). The Mainstreet Research poll has
a sample of more than 2,000 Ontario residents – which SumOfUs Canada Society and Wellington
Water Watchers argue is indicative of the strength of public support for a permanent phase-out of
permits for bottled water extraction in Ontario.

Respondents who want to see the permits phased out in Ontario mostly cited the negative
environmental impact of water extraction as the most important reason for why they do not want
to see the permits renewed, and 64.3% of all respondents do not think that private corporations
should have the right to control access to groundwater.

Wellington Watchers and SumOfUs Canada Society are urging Premier Kathleen Wynne to commit
to phasing out water bottling in Ontario. A petition from SumOfUs with over 62,000 Canadian
signatures—of which over 20,000 are Ontario residents—is demanding Premier Kathleen Wynne
phase out bottled water permits.

VIEW THE SUMOFUS PETITION HERE: https://actions.sumofus.org/a/premier-wynne-phase-out-

bottled-water-permits-now

World Water Day is held annually on 22 March and is sponsored by the United Nations as a means of
focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management
of freshwater resources.

Wellington Water Watchers Board Member Rob Case said:

“Leaders of all the political parties on Ontario should take seriously the message that a majority of
people polled in Ontario think that permits to take water for bottling should be phased out in the
next two years. Also, because 55% of people polled are likely to vote for a party that promises to
stop Nestlé and other companies from bottling water in Ontario – political candidates would be
smart to get in front of this wave.”

Arlene Slocombe, Wellington Water Watchers Executive Director, explained:

“We have learned through engagement with thousands of people during our campaigning that
protecting water from water bottling corporations like Nestlé is a bottom line issue for people. They
tell us water is life and they will act to protect it. Political leaders who commit to phase out permits to
bottle water in Ontario can win the support of the two-thirds of the people polled, across all political
parties, who believe that corporate profiteering off our precious water is no longer acceptable.”

Emma Pullman, Campaign Manager with SumOfUs, also said:

“These poll results prove that Ontarians want corporations like Nestlé to back off of our precious,
limited water resources. These finding should be a strong warning to 2018 provincial election
candidates that voters want action on water-taking in Ontario without delay. The time to act on
Nestlé and other water bottlers is now, and we hope to see water protection commitments across
all party platforms.”

-30-

For more information, or for interview with a SumOfUs or Wellington Water Watchers spokesperson,
please contact Yasmina Dardari at +1 407-922-8149 or by email at yasmina@unbendablemedia.com.
Do you think that the permits of bottled water
taking should be phased out in Ontario?

An overwhelming majority of Ontarians want to see water taking permits phased

out, with over 50% saying that want them phased out over the next two years. This
contrast sharply with 14.3% of Ontarians that do not want to see them phased out.
A total of 64% of Ontarians want to see the permits phased out between two to
ten years, which is virtually unchanged from the 65.2% that did not want to see the
permits renewed when Mainstreet polled this issue last year.

There is no significant difference between genders and ages in terms of support for
phasing out of permits, however agreement is strongest among respondents between
the ages of 50 and 64 and those over the age of 65.

Residents in all regions in Ontario strongly do not want to see the permits renewed,
with opposition strongest in Northern Ontario (70.5%), and weakest in Toronto
(61.2%). All party supporters want to see the permits phased out, with Green Party
supporters are most strongly opposed (77.3%). Progressive Conservative supporters
are the least likely to support a phase out, but nonetheless, 60.3% of them oppose
renewing the permits.
Why do you think that the permits for groundwater taking that
Nestlé and other water taking companies have should not be
renewed?

Respondents who want to see the permits phased out in Ontario mostly cited the
negative environmental impact of water taking as the most important reason for why
they do not want to see the permits renewed. 41.3% of respondents said that the
negative environmental impact was their most important reason, which is an increase
from 33% in last year’s survey. Another change from last year’s survey is that the
negative environmental impact of water taking is the most frequent response among
both genders, all age groups, all regions in Ontario, and all party supporters.

22.6% said that they do not want to see water treated as a commodity, equalling
the amount of Ontarians that said that they were concerned about the excessive
waste from plastic water bottles. 8% of Ontarians said that they believe bottled water
undermines the perception that tap water is not safe.
How likely are you to vote for a party that promises
to stop Nestlé and other companies from bottling
Ontario water?
A total of 78.7% of decided respondents said that they are at least somewhat likely
to vote for a party that promises to stop Nestlé and other companies from bottling
Ontario water. Again, there is virtually no difference between genders on this issue,
and older respondents (in the 50-64 and 64+ age groups) said that they were most
likely to vote for a party that would tackle this issue compared to respondents in
younger age groups.

A strong majority of respondents in every region said that were likely to vote for a
party that would stop private companies from bottling water, with respondents in
Eastern Ontario showing the strongest indication to vote on this issue, and those in the
Greater Toronto Area being the least likely. The same applies to all party supporters,
with the likelihood to vote for a party that promises to stop bottling water especially
strong among NDP and Green Party supporters, but weakest among PC supporters.
Do you agree that private corporations should have
the right to control access to groundwater?

64.3% of all respondents do not think that private corporations should have
the right to control access to groundwater. Men are 5.6% more likely to oppose
corporations’ water taking than women. We also find that the younger the
respondent is, the more likely they are think that private companies should not
have the right to take Ontario water. A majority of residents in every region
in Ontario do not think that private companies should have the right to bottle
Ontario water. Sentiment is strongest in Toronto and weakest in Northern
Ontario.
 Breakouts
Do you think that the permits of bottled water taking should be phased out in Ontario?

Why do you think that the permits for groundwater taking that Nestlé and other water
taking companies have should not be renewed?
 How likely are you to vote for a party that promises to stop Nestlé and other
companies from bottling Ontario water?

Do you agree that private corporations should have the right to control access to

groundwater?
 QUESTIONNAIRE
Do you think that the permits of bottled Do you agree that private corporations
water taking should be phased out in should have the right to control access to
Ontario? groundwater?
The permits should be phased out over two Strongly Agree
years Somewhat Agree
The permits should be phased out over the Somewhat Disagree
next three to five years Strongly Disagree
The permits should be phased out over the Not Sure
next six to ten years
The permits should not be phased out What is your gender?
Not Sure Male
Female
Which party are you leaning towards?
(only asked to respondents who said they What is your age group?
were undecided in the previous question) Under 18 years of age
Concern about the negative environmental 18 to 34 years of age
impact of excessive water taking 35 to 49 years of age
Concern about the excessive waste from 50 to 64 years of age
plastic water bottles 65 years of age or older
Bottled water undermines the perception
that tap water is safe
Disapprove of water being treated as a
commodity
Not Sure

How likely are you to vote for a party

that promises to stop Nestle and other
companies from bottling Ontario water?
Very Likely
Somewhat Likely
Somewhat Unlikely
Very Unlikely
Not Sure
Methodology
The analysis in this report is based on results of a survey conducted between March 17th
and March 18th, 2018, among a sample of 2003 adults, 18 years of age or older, living in
Ontario. The survey was conducted using Interactive Voice Recording. Respondents were
interviews on both landlines and cellular phones. The survey is intended to represent the
voting population of Ontario.

The survey was conducted by Mainstreet Research and was sponsored by Project of
the Water for Life, Not Profit Campaign, a partnership of: SumOfUs Canada Society and
Wellington Water Watchers.

The sampling frame was derived from both a national telephone directory compiled by
Mainstreet Research from various sources and random digit dialing. The survey that dialed
from the directory was conducted as a stratified dial of the following regions: Toronto (also
known as the 416 region), the Greater Toronto Area (also known as the 905 region), South
Central Ontario, Southwestern Ontario, Eastern Ontario, and Northern Ontario. In the case
of random digit dials, respondents were asked the additional question of what region of the
province they resided in. In both cases, respondents were dialed at random.

At least two attempts were made to complete an interview at every sampled telephone
number. The calls were staggered over times of day and two days to maximize the chances
of making contact with a potential respondent. Interviewing was also spread as evenly as
possible across the field period.

The questionnaire used in this survey is available in this report and online at www.
mainstreetresearch.ca. Questions are asked as they appear in the release document. If
a question is asked of a subset of the sample a descriptive note is added in parenthesis
preceding the question.

The sample was weighted by population parameters from the Canada 2016 Census for adults
18 years of age or older in Canada. The population parameters used for weighting are age,
gender, and region.

The margin of error for this poll is +/- 2.19% at the 95% confidence level. Margins of error are
higher in each subsample.

The margins of error for each subsample is as following: Males: +/- 2.94%, Females: +/- 3.28%,
18-34 age group: +/- 5.83%, 35-49 age group: +/- 4.76%, 50-64 age group: +/- 3.88%, 65+
age group: +/- 3.82%, Toronto: +/- 4.63%, Greater Toronto Area: +/- 4.31%, South Central
Ontario: +/- 7.07%, Southwestern Ontario: +/- 4.94%, Eastern Ontario: +/- 6.2%, Northern
Ontario: +/- 6.88%

In addition to sampling error, one should bear in mind that the wording of questions and
practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of
opinion polls.