Participation Rate Holds Steady With Last Year, But Those Who Participated Got a Little More Involved
Toronto, ON — Six in ten (60%) Canadians were either in the dark (51%) for Earth Hour or participated in some other way (9%), according to a new Ipsos Reid poll conducted on behalf of Canwest News Service and Global National. While four in ten (40%) did not participate, Earth Hour appears to have achieved its goal of raising environmental awareness, with three quarters (74%) ‘agreeing’ (21% strongly/52% somewhat) that it got them to think more about what they can do to help the environment, including 59% of those who did not participate in the event. But almost all (96%) Canadians ‘agree’ (70% strongly/26% somewhat) that ‘in order to help the environment we need to do more than turn off our lights for one hour each year’.
The proportion of Canadians who report having participated this year is unchanged from last year (60% in 2009 vs. 59% in 2008), however those who did participate got slightly more involved, overall. Nearly nine in ten (85%) turned the lights off (up 2 points), eight in ten (83%) did not use appliances (up 3 points), two in three (67%) turned off their computer (up 2 points), six in ten turned off the television (up 4 points), two in ten turned off the furnace (up 7 points), and 17% turned off clocks or other small devices (up 3 points).
Participation rates varied greatly across the country. Overall, Ontarians (74%) were the most likely to report having observed Earth Hour, while a majority in Alberta (63%), British Columbia (62%), Atlantic Canada (59%), and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (57%) also got involved. The lowest reported levels of participation are found in Quebec (35%).
In Alberta (+11) and Ontario (3+) participation rates increased over last year. But in British Columbia (-8), Quebec (-3) and Atlantic Canada (-2) participation dropped, while it remained unchanged in Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
The poll also revealed that participation rates varied greatly by age, with those aged 55+ (63%) and 35-54 (61%) being significantly more likely than those aged 18-34 (54%) to have participated. Further, women (64%) have a higher propensity than men (55%) to say that they observed Earth Hour.
Interestingly, among those who did participate, one half (49%) say that they looked in their neighbourhood to see who was and was not turning their lights off for Earth Hour.
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