VoxPop News

Support overwhelming for Do-Not-Call Registry, VoxPop poll finds

Toronto, October 30, 2007 – More than six in 10 Canadians (63%) say they will register their phone numbers with the national Do-Not-Call Registry for telemarketing expected in the fall of 2008, according to a national poll from VoxPop, a campaign by the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA) to give voice to Canadians and encourage participation in opinion research. The MRIA governs and represents Canada’s survey research industry.

“This survey strongly suggests Canada’s Do-Not-Call Registry for telemarketing will be greeted with overwhelming support,” says VoxPop spokesperson, Brendan Wycks, Executive Director of MRIA. “Nationally, 44 percent of Canadian adults are now aware the registry is on the horizon, and six in 10 say they will definitely register. Such high awareness and support so early indicates Canadians will rush to sign on when the registry is introduced. The DNC Registry promises to be a major advance in protecting Canadians from unwanted telemarketing calls.”

DNC Registry exemptions
The poll also revealed that 61 percent of respondents believe the registry will be effective at stemming unwanted calls, even with the exemptions granted to such groups as registered charities and survey researchers.

“The experience in the United States suggests Canadians are right to believe their Do-Not-Call Registry will be an effective barrier to telemarketing calls,” says Wycks. “The exemptions to Canada’s no-call list are nearly identical to those granted in the United States, which has had a Do-Not-Call Registry in place since 2003. Research there shows that 79 percent of Americans who have registered now receive either far fewer telemarketing calls or no telemarketing calls at all.”

A Harris Poll, conducted in the United States in December of 2005, reported that 92 percent of respondents stated they had received fewer telemarketing calls since signing up for the Do-Not-Call registry, with 61 percent reporting they received far fewer calls than before and 18 percent reporting they now received no telemarketing calls. Only 12 percent said they received slightly fewer calls than before.

The Canadian VoxPop survey clearly suggests the registry’s impact on telemarketers in this country will be significant. In the United States, more than 145.5 million American households have signed on to that country’s Do-Not-Call Registry since 2003. If Canadians register with the same enthusiasm – and the survey strongly suggests they will – about nine million Canadian residential phone numbers will be off-limits to telemarketers by 2011.

Canada’s Do-Not-Call Registry for telemarketing will have sharp teeth. Telemarketers will be required to check the registry at regular intervals – most likely every 90 days – and “scrub” their lists of all registered phone numbers. If they call a registered household and a complaint is filed, the fine is expected to be $1,500 for individuals and $15,000 for companies.

Findings by province

1. Awareness of the Do-Not-Call Registry was highest in Ontario (53%) followed by British Columbia (50%), Alberta (50%), Atlantic Canada (49%), Manitoba (44%), Saskatchewan (41%) and Quebec (23%).
2. Support for the registry was highest in Ontario (70%) followed by Saskatchewan (68%), British Columbia (66%), Alberta (63%), Atlantic Canada (63%) and Quebec (52%).
3. Confidence that the exemptions will not hamper the Do-Not-Call Registry’s effectiveness was highest in Manitoba (64%) followed by Quebec (62%), Ontario (61%), Alberta (61%), Saskatchewan (60%), British Columbia (59%) and Atlantic Canada (55%).

Attitudes towards survey research

The VoxPop survey also examined attitudes towards opinion research, and revealed that a strong majority of Canadians believes survey research creates economic and social value by giving individuals direct influence over decisions made by governments and corporations.

Eight in 10 respondents (81%) felt surveys and polls serve a useful purpose; 74 percent agreed participation in surveys gives people the opportunity to influence public policy issues, and 88 percent agreed surveys enable people to voice their opinions to companies about the quality of their products and services.

Information Campaign

This VoxPop survey is the first in a series of polls from the MRIA designed to educate Canadians about the value of survey research as a vehicle that gives Canadians influence over decisions that affect their lives. Starting this October, VoxPop survey results will be released regularly to provide a forum for the views of Canadians on issues of broad interest.

“Respect for survey research respondents is at the core of our industry, and VoxPop reflects that respect,” says Wycks. “These individuals contribute to a better Canada in so many ways – from influencing a wide variety of public policy initiatives that advance the health and welfare of Canadians to products and services that better serve the needs and wants of consumers. When Canadians say yes to survey research, we all gain.”

The survey was conducted by a group of independent research agencies, including Bristol Omnifacts, Corporate Research Associates and Blue Ocean Contact Centers, Research House, Consumer Contact and Justason Market Intelligence. The poll was conducted via telephone in August 2007 with a national random sample of 1,531 adult Canadian respondents and is considered accurate within ± 2.5 percent, 19 times out of 20.

This survey is part of a series from VoxPop, a campaign to give voice to Canadians and encourage participation in opinion research. VoxPop: You speak. We listen. Things improve.

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