Public support rises for P3 projects

In a national survey of Canadians, two-thirds said they believe that the private sector should be involved in financing and building new infrastructure.
The survey was conducted by Environics Research Group for the Canadian Council on Public-Private Partnerships. The results were announced at the partnership’s 14th annual conference held in Toronto, November 20-21.
This is the third year the poll has been done. For a third year, it found that a steadily growing majority of Canadians support public private partnerships (P3s). This year, 64% of respondents said they support the idea that “it is time to allow the private sector to form partnerships with government to deliver services such as roads, sewage treatment, hopsitals, transit and schools.” The percentage in favour was 4% higher than the 2004 results.
Support for P3s was strongest in Quebec, with a 73% percentage in favour.
Dale Richmond, president of the Council said, “The survey results are crystal clear. Canadians understand the challenges faced by governments in addressing the infrastructure deficit, and have decidedly expressed their support fo governments to mobilize private sector expertise and capital to address these challenges.”
2,021 Canadians were interviewed by telephone by Environics Research from September 18 and October 12 for the survey. The results are estimated to be accurate to within plus or minus 2.2 percentage points in 19 out of 20.