Canadians misinformed on CPP expansion, Ipsos-CFIB poll says

Toronto – An Ipsos-CFIB public opinion poll suggests 70 per cent of employed Canadians oppose a CPP hike if it means a wage freeze.

The poll also indicated a majority of Canadians are uninformed about basic details of CPP and how the proposed expansion of the public pension plan will work.

For example, nearly 40 per cent of Canadians think the government pays for part of the CPP (only a quarter realize this is false), the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses said in a news release. Over 70 per cent of Canadians don’t realize that current retirees get nothing from the proposed CPP expansion (one-quarter of current retirees wrongly believe they will see larger CPP benefits as a result of CPP expansion), the federation added.

Other poll highlights

• 83 per cent of employed Canadians do not support CPP expansion if it means employers will cut their wages over the seven-year implementation period.
• Over 80 per cent agree they want the government to consult them on plans to expand CPP.

In light of these results, CFIB strongly encourages governments to offer education to Canadians and engage them in consultations before any plan to expand CPP moves forward.

Read the full poll results.

What can small business owners do?

• If your business is in Quebec or British Columbia, participate in the consultation, and let your government know that a hike will hurt you and your employees.
• If you live elsewhere, contact your provincial finance minister and insist that your province undertake a proper consultation on CPP expansion.

In addition to the signatures on our online petition, CFIB has gathered over 50,000 paper petitions from small business owners opposed to CPP/QPP hikes and  a further 40,000 in opposition to the Ontario Retirement Pension Plan (ORPP). CFIB has met with the premier or finance minister in every province, and shared with them the business community’s strong opposition mandatory pension plan hikes.