Canadians reject additional help for North American car makers

Many Canadians believe the federal and Ontario governments have already done enough to assist General Motors and Chrysler, and a large majority opposes the allocation of additional subsidies to keep the companies afloat, a new Toronto Star / Angus Reid poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample, half of Canadians (51%) disagree with the decision of the federal and Ontario governments to commit $4 billion in short-term loans to General Motors of Canada Ltd. and Chrysler Canada Inc. Respondents in Ontario are clearly split on the issue (46% agree, 48% disagree).

A large proportion of Canadians are against providing more taxpayer-funded loans to the troubled automakers. Three-in-ten respondents (30%) disagree with the loans that have been issued so far, and almost half (48%) claim that the companies have received enough money already and should not require additional assistance.

Conversely, only 12 per cent of Canadians would agree to grant more loans to keep the companies operating in the short term, and just three per cent would provide as much money as necessary to save the companies from bankruptcy.

In all, 63 per cent of respondents believe allowing the North American automakers who cannot be sustainable to go bankrupt would be the best option for the Canadian economy, while 14 per cent would consent to providing additional subsidies to keep the North American automakers in business.

What Car Would Canadians Buy Today?

The survey asked Canadians what car they would acquire if they were making a decision about a new vehicle today. In all, 45 per cent of respondents say they would buy a car from a foreign company, while 28 per cent would prefer a car from a North American automaker.

In Ontario, the proportion of respondents who would buy a model from Ford, Chrysler, or General Motors rises to 35 per cent, while almost three-in-five respondents in British Columbia (58%) would acquire a car from a foreign company.

The Views of Chrysler, Ford and GM Drivers

An analysis of the views of respondents whose primary vehicle was made by Chrysler, Ford or General Motors shows a high level of commitment to the brands, but roughly the same level of hesitation of other Canadians when the future of the companies is assessed.

More than half of respondents in this sub-group of Chrysler, Ford and GM drivers (52%) say they would buy a car from a North American automaker if they were making a decision today (compared to 28% of all respondents across Canada).

Still, the group is evenly split (46% agree, 47% disagree) with the $4 billion in short-term loans provided to GM and Chrysler, only 17 per cent (compared to 15% nationally) would consent to providing more taxpayer assistance to the two companies, and 61 per cent (compared to 63% nationally) believe the best solution for the Canadian economy is to allow the North American automakers who cannot be sustainable to go bankrupt.

Drivers of Chrysler, Ford or General Motors models are not particularly worried about two issues. A third of respondents (36%) say they are very or moderately concerned about the company that produced their car going bankrupt, and 28 per cent are worried about their car’s warranty becoming useless.

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