Public Opinion on Agriculture:

Transcription

1 Public Opinion on Agriculture: Attitudes & Opinions of Greater Toronto Residents Towards Ontario s Agri-Food Sector In Partnership With May 24, 2017

2 u u u What is the purpose of this survey? Purpose of the Study u To identify, measure and explore the levels of awareness and trust Greater Toronto Area (GTA) residents have of Ontario s agriculture and agri-food sector. Why is this survey significant? u The Greater Toronto Area is one of the largest consumer markets in Canada but its location largely isolates residents from the important role the industry plays in local, provincial and federal economies. u It is important to understand what urban and suburban residents think about the agri-food sector in order to ensure positive and effective communication between consumers and industry stakeholders. How was this survey was performed? u A cross section of 676 GTA residents were asked a total of eight questions intended to measure perceptions about the growth of the agri-food sector in the future, their trust in the sector to provide safe and high quality food, and whether they agree with increased government support for the sector.

3 u u Top Line Findings GTA residents have relatively high levels of trust in Ontario s agri-food sector in providing safe and high quality and safe food for them and their families. Almost half (46%) of GTA residents surveyed are rather negative about the industry s potential future. u Despite being pessimistic about the industry s future, a majority of respondents (64%) believe the agri-food sector is more than capable of creating jobs in the future. u u u u A commanding majority (82%) of respondents believe the government should increase its support for the agri-food industry over other industries such as automotive and manufacturing. Roughly 70% of respondents indicated that neither they nor any family members have/had worked in the agri-food sector. Respondents 76+ were more likely to have worked or had a family member who worked in the agri-food sector. Generally, the more recently someone has visited a working farm the more optimistic they are about the job prospects of the industry and support an increased role for government. Similar findings were found among respondents with past employment in the sector. The more trust a respondent has in the industry, the more they wish to see government increase their support for the sector.

4 Geographic Breakdown of GTA Respondents UXBRIDGE 11% WHITBY 5% AJAX 6% AURORA 7% BRAMPTON 6% TORONTO 15% RICHMOND HILL 4% BURLINGTON 6% CALEDON 2% MARKHAM 4% MILTON 5% PICKERING 7% OSHAWA 7% OAKVILLE 5% NEWMARKET 5% MISSISSAUGA 6%

5 Q1. Please tell us when was the last time you, yourself, visited a working farm? Don't Know/Refused 4% 90 days 14% Never visited a working farm before 14% 2 years 27% 7 years or more 24% 5 years 17% Roughly four in ten respondents have visited a working farm at some point in the past two years while less than three in every twenty respondents have never visited a working farm before. Misconceptions about the agri-food sector are more likely to occur among those that have never visited a working farm.

6 Q2. Have you or anyone in your family ever worked full or part time in the agriculture or agri-food industry? Don't Know/Refused 3% Yes 29% No 68% Almost seven in ten respondents have no direct experience, either personally or in their family, working in the agri-food industry. With a growing urban population across Canada and Ontario, the number of residents with a direct connection to the farm is decreasing.

7 Q3. On a scale from one to five, one meaning very little and five meaning a lot, how much trust do you have in Ontario s agri-food sector to deliver high quality, safe food for you and your family? Don't Know/Refused 6% 1 6% 2 6% 3 19% 5 35% 4 28% Overall respondents are quite trustful of Ontario s agri-food sector. More than six in ten respondents rated their level of trust at a 4 or higher. Just over one in ten respondents rated their level of (dis)trust as a two or lower.

8 Q4. When thinking about the future of the agri-food industry in Ontario, do you believe that the industry is likely to grow, shrink, or stay the same compared to what it is today? Believe the industry is likely to stay the same 18% Don't Know/Refused 5% Believe the industry is likely to grow 31% Believe the industry is likely to shrink 46% Respondents were rather pessimistic about the future of the agri-food industry with only one in three believing the industry is likely to grow compared with the more than four in ten respondents who believe the industry is likely to shrink in the future.

9 Q5. Do you believe that the agri-food sector, including food processing, is a capable of creating more jobs in Ontario in the coming decades? Strongly disagree 4% Don't Know/Refused 7% Strongly agree 28% Somewhat disagree 25% Somewhat agree 36% Despite being more pessimistic about the future of the industry, more than two in every three respondents either strongly, or somewhat, agreed that the industry is capable of creating more jobs.

10 Q6. Do you believe the government should increase its support for the agri-food industry in Ontario, over other industries such as automotive or manufacturing? Strongly disagree 4% Don't Know/Refused 4% Somwhat disagree 10% Strongly agree 54% Somewhat agree 28% Respondents overwhelmingly agree that the government should increase its support for the agri-food industry over other industries. More than half of respondents strongly believed in an increased role of government in the agricultural sector.

11 GENDER à FUTURE OF INDUSTRY 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Likely to grow Likely to Shrink Likely to stay the same Don't Know/Refused Male 31.7% 42.3% 23.0% 3.0% Female 29.5% 48.8% 15.8% 5.8% Women were less optimistic than men about the future of the agri-food industry with almost half of female respondents stating that the industry is likely to shrink in the future. Only one third of female respondents believed the industry is likely to grow. Men were slightly more optimistic about the potential of the agri-food sector but had a greater probability of saying the industry was likely to stay the same in the future.

12 GENDER à GOVERNMENT SUPPORT 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree Don't Know/Refused Male 39.1% 35.2% 16.4% 7.6% 1.8% Female 63.3% 24.6% 5.6% 1.2% 5.3% Female respondents were significantly more likely to believe that the government should play a greater role in supporting the agri-food industry. Male respondents were significantly more likely to disagree with the idea of an increased role of government in the agri-food industry. The previous analysis shows that male respondents were more optimistic about the future of the industry than women but believe that government should have less of a role in influencing it.

13 AGE à WORKED IN AGRI-INDUSTRY 80.0% 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Yes 8.8% 23.8% 23.5% 32.1% 38.2% No 73.5% 72.0% 73.8% 65.8% 58.2% Don't 17.6% 4.2% 2.7% 2.1% 3.6% Know/Refused The older the respondent, the more likely they or a family member worked in the agri-food sector. Younger people have significantly less familiarity with the work experiences in the agricultural and agrifood sectors. Increased education efforts may help increase youth interest in the sector as a possible career choice.

14 AGE à FUTURE OF INDUSTRY 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Likely to grow 43.4% 39.2% 24.8% 26.2% 42.6% Likely to shrink 30.1% 38.5% 53.7% 49.7% 31.5% Likely to stay the same 17.6% 16.1% 17.4% 18.8% 20.4% Don't Know/Refused 8.8% 6.3% 4.0% 5.2% 5.6% Respondents ages and 76+ were most optimistic about the future of the industry and believed it is likely to grow while respondents ages were most likely to believe the industry is likely to shrink in the future.

15 AGE à JOBS PROSPECTS FOR INDUSTRY 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Strongly agree 13.2% 30.1% 24.7% 28.3% 37.0% Somewhat agree 52.2% 38.5% 32.7% 36.6% 35.2% Somewhat disagree 21.3% 16.8% 32.0% 24.1% 18.5% Strongly disagree 0.0% 2.8% 6.0% 4.2% 3.7% Don't Know/Refused 13.2% 11.9% 4.7% 6.8% 5.6% Respondents ages 76+ and exhibited the highest levels of enthusiasm about the potential job prospects for the agri-food industry. Respondents ages were more bearish about the industry s jobs prospects with roughly four in ten respondents either somewhat or strongly disagreeing with the idea that the industry is capable of creating jobs in the future.

16 AGE à GOVERNMENT SUPPORT 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Strongly agree 34.6% 44.8% 51.0% 57.1% 58.9% Somewhat agree 43.4% 30.1% 31.1% 26.2% 23.2% Somewhat disagree 17.6% 16.8% 7.3% 9.9% 10.7% Strongly disagree 4.4% 2.8% 5.3% 4.2% 1.8% Don't Know/Refused 0.0% 5.6% 5.3% 2.6% 5.4% Increased government support for the agri-food industry is popular among all respondents regardless of age, however, the older the respondent the more likely they were to support the idea. The greatest cluster of opposition can be found among younger respondents ages with more than one in five either somewhat or strongly disagreeing with increased government support.

17 LAST TIME VISITED FARM à TRUST Don't Know/Refused Never visited a working farm before 7 years or more 5 years 2 years 90 days 90 days 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% 2 years 5 years 7 years or more Never visited a working farm before Don't Know/Refused 1 9.2% 2.8% 6.1% 6.3% 11.2% 0.0% (Very little trust) 2 7.1% 7.2% 2.6% 6.3% 6.1% 8.3% % 20.4% 20.9% 23.8% 16.3% 20.8% % 34.3% 26.1% 31.3% 20.4% 12.5% % 33.1% 40.0% 28.1% 33.7% 29.2% (A lot of trust) Don't Know/Refused 3.1% 2.2% 4.3% 4.4% 12.2% 29.2% The more recently a respondent has visited a working farm, the greater their level of trust in the sector. Respondents who visited a farm in the last 90 days had the highest levels of trust in the agri-food sector.

18 LAST TIME VISITED FARM à FUTURE OF INDUSTRY 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% 90 days 2 years 5 years 7 years or more Never visited a working farm before Don't Know/Refused Likely to grow 23.5% 29.8% 35.7% 30.6% 32.7% 29.2% Likely to Shrink 58.2% 51.4% 41.7% 45.6% 33.7% 29.2% Likely to stay the same 15.3% 17.1% 19.1% 18.1% 21.4% 25.0% Don't Know/Refused 3.1% 1.7% 3.5% 5.6% 12.2% 16.7% The more recent a respondent has been to a working farm, the greater the probability that they believe the industry is likely to shrink.

19 LAST TIME VISTED FARM à JOBS PROSPECTS FOR INDUSTRY 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% 90 days 2 years 5 years 7 years or more Never visited a working farm before Don't Know/Refused Strongly agree 33.7% 24.9% 36.5% 25.0% 23.5% 33.3% Somewhat agree 33.7% 37.6% 36.5% 37.5% 32.7% 29.2% Somewhat disagree 24.5% 29.8% 22.6% 25.0% 22.4% 8.3% Strongly disagree 7.1% 2.2% 2.6% 5.0% 6.1% 0.0% Don't Know/Refused 1.0% 5.5% 1.7% 7.5% 15.3% 29.2% Respondents who visited a working farm within the last 5 years were the most likely to believe that the agrifood industry is capable of creating jobs in the future, followed by respondents who visited a working farm within the last 90 days. Respondents who visited a working farm within the last two years or less held the highest level of pessimism towards the industry s capabilities of creating jobs in the future.

20 LAST TIME VISITED FARM à GOVERNMENT SUPPORT 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% 90 days 2 years 5 years 7 years or more Never visited a working farm before Don't Know/Refused Strongly agree 57.1% 53.0% 53.0% 54.4% 48.0% 58.3% Somewhat agree 28.6% 34.3% 24.3% 29.4% 22.4% 20.8% Somewhat disagree 8.2% 9.4% 12.2% 8.8% 15.3% 4.2% Strongly disagree 5.1% 2.2% 6.1% 2.5% 4.1% 4.2% Don't Know/Refused 1.0% 1.1% 4.3% 5.0% 10.2% 12.5% Respondents who visited a working farm within the last two years or less were more supportive of government support for the industry.

21 WORKED IN AGRI-INDUSTRY à JOBS PROSPECTS FOR INDUSTRY 50.0% 45.0% 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% Strongly agree Somewhat agree Somewhat disagree Strongly disagree Don't Know/Refused Yes 31.4% 33.0% 25.8% 5.7% 4.1% No 26.2% 37.9% 24.9% 3.7% 7.4% Don't Know/Refused 45.0% 15.0% 15.0% 0.0% 25.0% Respondents who have worked or have a family member that has worked in the agri-food sector, had a greater strength in their level of optimism about the future employment potential for the sector, however, respondents who have not worked in the industry demonstrated almost identical levels of support as those who have worked in the sector.

22 TRUST à FUTURE OF INDUSTRY 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Don't Know/Refused Likely to grow 26.2% 31.7% 26.5% 26.6% 37.4% 23.7% Likely to Shrink 59.5% 34.1% 47.7% 48.4% 43.0% 44.7% Likely to stay the same 7.1% 26.8% 18.2% 21.8% 16.2% 18.4% Don't Know/Refused 7.1% 7.3% 7.6% 3.2% 3.4% 13.2% Pessimism about the industry s future cuts through respondents trust, however, higher levels of trust in the province s agri-food industry were more likely to produce more optimistic perceptions about the industry s future. Respondents who rated their level of trust at 5 were the most likely to believe the industry is likely to grow while respondents with lower levels of trust in the industry had a greater probability of believing the industry is likely to shrink.

23 TRUST à JOBS PROSPECTS FOR INDUSTRY 45.0% 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% Don't Know/Refused Strongly agree 33.3% 24.4% 15.9% 23.9% 38.7% 26.3% Somewhat agree 26.2% 36.6% 42.4% 39.9% 32.8% 21.1% Somewhat disagree 23.8% 34.1% 25.8% 27.1% 21.7% 21.1% Strongly disagree 11.9% 2.4% 7.6% 2.1% 2.1% 7.9% Don't Know/Refused 4.8% 2.4% 8.3% 6.9% 4.7% 23.7% Respondents who rated their level of trust in the agri-food industry as a 2 or lower were least likely to believe that the industry is capable of creating more jobs in the future. Alternatively, respondents who rated their level of trust in the industry as a 5 demonstrated the most optimism in the industry s ability to create more jobs in the future.

24 TRUST à GOVERNMENT SUPPORT 70.0% 60.0% 50.0% 40.0% 30.0% 20.0% 10.0% 0.0% Don't Know/Refused Strongly agree 52.4% 48.8% 54.5% 47.9% 57.4% 57.9% Somewhat agree 19.0% 39.0% 27.3% 33.0% 27.7% 13.2% Somewhat disagree 9.5% 7.3% 9.8% 12.8% 8.9% 10.5% Strongly disagree 11.9% 4.9% 4.5% 2.7% 2.6% 2.6% Don't Know/Refused 7.1% 0.0% 3.8% 3.7% 3.4% 15.8% Increased government support for the agri-food sector is rather popular among all respondents regardless of their levels of trust. Most notably almost half, in some cases almost six in ten, of respondents stating that they strongly agree that the government should play an increased role in supporting the province s agri-food industry.

25 Survey Methodology *Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

26 Contact Information For more information about this survey please contact: u Peter Seemann, President u u peter@grassrootspublicaffairs.com u Adrian Macaulay, President u u adrian@delphipolling.com.com