Canadian farmers have been loyal Conservative supporters in recent elections but most do not feel their loyalty was repaid in the last federal budget, a poll of more than 900 producers suggests.
Almost half felt the budget would have no impact on their farms, 13 percent said the budget will hurt them and just six percent nationally thought the budget will help, said Winnipeg-based pollster Ipsos Forward Research.
Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz’s home province of Saskatchewan is the most likely to be hostile to the budget’s agricultural provisions. One in five Saskatchewan producers who responded to an on-line Ipsos poll said the budget will hurt their own operations and 47 percent strongly disagreed with the suggestion that the budget helps Canadian agriculture.
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Still, most farmers surveyed said the government of Stephen Harper will do what is right for the whole economy. That sentiment was strongest on the Prairies.
“Despite the fact that the majority of Canadian farmers do not feel the federal budget will help their operation or the Canadian agricultural industry in general, the majority of farmers (63 percent) agree that the Harper government is committed to doing what it takes to get Canada’s economy back on track,” IFR said in an analysis provided to The Western Producer.
The survey on budget reaction included 2,000 farmers with gross revenues of more than $10,000 annually who have joined the Ipsos Forward Research on-line panel. For this survey, more than 900 responded to questions about budget reaction.
Ipsos said the size of the response means the results are accurate to within 3.2 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
Most farmers were indifferent or underwhelmed by the budget with its promise of $550 million in new spending over five years that turned out to be $190 million in new dollars. The survey also cast a light on falling Conservative fortunes in Quebec.
While most farmers nationally voiced faith in the Conservatives to do what it takes to lead the country out of the recession, just 40 percent of Quebec farmers held that opinion.
