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As part of the Evaluation of Survivor’s Benefits and Ancillary Program Features, we were asked to conduct surveys of the general public’s views on a number of program-related features. As was the case for the survey of beneficiaries of the Surviving Spouse’s Pension, we surveyed members of Canadian Facts’ Canadian Family Opinion Panel. ³⁹

Two samples were drawn randomly from CFO panelists in the target age populations, excluding persons who responded to the Survey of Beneficiaries of a Surviving Spouse’s Pension. We drew a sample of 1,500 names for the 45 and older sample and 1,000 households for the 25 to 44 age group. Respondents within households were selected randomly.⁴⁰

The response rate was better for the older age group sample:

• 1,236 responses or 82.4% for the 45 and older sample;

• 688 responses or 68.8% for the younger sample.

Since the same questionnaire items were administered to both samples, we designed the study so that the two samples could be analyzed separately or, after proper weighting to the age/gender proportions of the Canadian population outside Quebec, they could be analyzed at the level of the total population 25 years of age and older. The combined result would provide a representative profile of the views of Canadians outside Québec aged 25 years and older.⁴¹

We have made an effort to compare the achieved sample with 1991 Census data or other Statistics Canada data for more recent years, but with mixed results. Too often the categories reported do not precisely match those we have used and since we must use data only for those 25 years or older, the comparisons are limited. Age distributions match reasonably well, although after weighting by gender and age, our total sample somewhat under-represents the 65+ population (compared to the 1991 Census) and somewhat over-represents the under 35s (16.8% compared to 13.5% for the 65+ and 36.6% compared to 27.7% for the <35). The gender match is good, as is the case with residence ownership status (owning with and without mortgage). Where household income groups can be compared—under $20,000 and $20,000-$29,999—the match is also good.

Exhibit 1 shows several selected features of respondents of the two samples The results selected here show that:

• The samples are both gender balanced.

• The majority in both samples is married, but a significant proportion of the younger sample (24%) is single.

• The younger sample has more years of education than the older sample, the latter having 22% of respondents who did not graduate from high school—more among those over 65 years of age.

• The majority of the younger sample is under 35 years of age and the majority of the older sample is within the range of 45 to 64 years of age.

EXHIBIT 1 Selected Demographic Characteristics of the Two Samples—Survey of the General Public

Characteristics	Sample Age 25-44 Years	Sample Age 45 and Older
	%	%
Age (on December 31, 1995)
25-34 years of age	62	0
45-64 years of age	0	67
Mean Age	33.9	59.9
Gender
Males	51	51
Females	49	49
Marital Status
Married	55	64
Common-law	11	2
Single	24	8
Retired	*	40
Education
Did not graduate from high school	7	22
Household Composition
Adults only	38	85
Own Home
Yes, with mortgage	51	24
Yes, without mortgage	10	54
Employment Status
Employed full-time	65	32
Retired	*	40
Household Income Before Taxes
Average income	$45,510	$38,860

*Less than 0.5%.

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Footnotes

39	The CFO Panel is a continuously maintained panel, broadly representative of Canadians across the country. Panelists participate from time to time in self-completion questionnaires on a variety of subjects.
40	The universe for Sample 1 was defined as all Canadians residing outside Quebec who are 45 or older. The sampling operation followed 2 stages: Selection of a sample of households allocated by size of household within city size within region. Within each selected household, the one particular individual 45 years of age and older was randomly selected from among those eligible. Sample 2 followed a similar process.
41	In the tables shown under separate cover, the two samples are reweighted by age and sex within region using census data, such that the older population sample (45+) reweights to 784 responses and the younger sample reweights to 1,140 responses. The total number of respondents-1,924-is the same for weighted and unweighted results.