A new Canada West foundation study has been published this month concerning public spending priorities.

When Canadians in the four western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and manitoba were asked to rate their priorities for public spending according to a 5 point Likert scale, their top 3 for increased spending were in the areas of healthcare, the environment, and reduction of poverty.  Healthcare was the only area to be awarded a ”very high” rating by a majority of Western Canadians.

Interesting findings include greater support for creating employment opportunities for aboriginal peoples than for importing foreign workers. Sixty percent agree that the economy should be left to the free market and of these, only around 16% felt strongly so.  Eighty percent felt that some sort of protections should be in place for rural economies. Ninety per cent support increased government spending for research and development but only 40% felt strongly so.

A PDF copy of the Canada West foundation study is available here.