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National Post

Alberta pension survey results find 63% opposed to leaving CPP

After a 21-month wait, the Alberta government has released to Postmedia the results of its 2023 provincial pension plan engagement survey, which show nearly two-thirds of respondents were opposed to leaving the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). Article content Postmedia first filed a request for responses from the survey a week after it opened in September of 2023, and followed up with multiple further requests in the following months, all of which produced either no records or records that were entirely redacted. Article content Article content Article content Last December, the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner opened reviews into the government's response to three requests: one seeking a summary of the survey results, a second looking for copies of the open-answer questions in the survey, and a third for completed copies of the pension workbook that was distributed in late 2023. Article content Mediation with the OIPC prompted the government to release copies of the workbooks to Postmedia in May and the survey's long-form answers this week. Article content The finance ministry released a summary of the survey results to Postmedia on Wednesday outside of the access to information process. Article content According to that summary, 63 per cent of respondents were opposed to an Alberta pension plan (APP), 10 per cent were in favour of an APP, and 12 per cent were undecided or unsure. Article content Article content The remaining 15 per cent were other forms of responses, including questions about implementation, suggestions for other alternatives, non-answers, and incomplete responses. Article content Article content More than 94,000 Albertans completed the survey between its opening on Sept. 21, 2023, and its conclusion on Dec. 10, 2023. Article content Article content 'While recent surveys on an APP show public opinion may be shifting, we will continue to engage with Albertans on this topic through the Alberta Next panel. The Alberta Pension Protection Act guarantees we won't replace the CPP with an Alberta Pension Plan unless Albertans approve it in a referendum.' Article content Polls from Leger in August and again last February both showed around 23 per cent support for leaving the CPP. Article content A government-commissioned survey by respected pollster Janet Brown found that 55 per cent of those who had made up their minds on the issue were in favour of a provincial pension plan if it 'guaranteed all Alberta seniors the same or better benefits' than the existing federal plan.