Given the chance, a wide majority (68%) of voters would advise Premier Kathleen Wynne to maintain or increase funding to TVOntario in the upcoming provincial budget while one-in-four would recommend cuts to the provincial public broadcaster, according to a new Forum poll released this morning.
Faced with the need to persuade current opposition party supporters to vote Liberal in order to win re-election, the results of the survey should give the Premier pause before following through with possible cuts to TVO hinted in last year’s Ontario Budget.
The view that TVO funding should be maintained or increased cuts a wide swath across party lines, and is particularly strong among those whose second choice is PC, NDP or Green.
“Support for TVO is so broad that more than half of PC supporters would advise the Premier to maintain or increase TVO funding,” said Ian Morrison, spokesperson for the watchdog group Friends of Canadian Broadcasting, which commissioned the research.
“It would be bad policy and bad politics for the Premier to cut TVO, given the wide support TVO commands among voters of all political stripes,” Morrison added.
The survey found that Tim Hudak’s Progressive Conservative Party has opened a 5% lead over Premier Wynne’s Liberal Party (37% to 32%) with the NDP in third place at 25% and the Green Party of Ontario a distant fourth at 4%.
In spite of promising long term support for TVO and TFO during the 2011 election, Former Premier McGuinty’s Budget 2012 warned that TVO must “reduce its reliance on government funding”. This has led management at the provincial public broadcaster to cancel original made-in-Ontario programming, including three of TVO’s signature shows:Big Ideas, Allan Gregg In Conversation, and Saturday Night at the Movies in anticipation of the coming cuts.
The survey also found that 63% of voters agree (43% strongly) that it is important that the Premier remain faithful to her predecessor’s election promise. Among Liberal Party supporters, 84% agree (62% strongly) that it is important that Premier Wynne keep this promise.
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is a member of Our TVO, a coalition of families, educators, artists and employees of TVO that supports stable funding for TVO, more made-in-Ontario programming, and a greater voice for audiences in the direction of the provincial educational broadcasters.
“It’s clear Ontarians want a strong, publicly funded TVO,” said Joe Motiki, Our TVO campaign spokesperson and well-known former TVO host. “This is the message I’ve been hearing for years. People take great pride in TVO, so now we have to ensure there are the necessary resources to protect and increase the amount of quality, made-in-Ontario programs.”
Forum conducted 1106 interviews between April 16 and April 18 with adult Ontario residents using Interactive Voice Response technology. A sample of this size produces a result that accurately reflects the views of all Ontario voters +/- 3% 19 times out of 20.
Friends of Canadian Broadcasting is an independent watchdog for more and better Canadian programming on the air and online, and is not affiliated with any broadcaster or political party.
