Widespread concern about current provincial debt level in NB

The average rating of concern with the provincial debt level is 7.6 on a 1 to 10 scale
Six in ten New Brunswick residents express concern with the provinces current debt level
Concern is slightly less prevalent in northern New Brunswick than elsewhere in the province

HALIFAX, NS March 23, 2017: The New Brunswick government has stated that the provincial debt is
projected to reach over $14 billion by 2018. On average, New Brunswick residents rate their level of
concern with the provinces current debt level as nearly eight on a scale of 1 to 10, according to the
most recent survey conducted by Corporate Research Associates Inc. Specifically, on a scale of 1 to 10,
where 1 is not at all concerned and 10 is extremely concerned, the average rating of concern with
the current provincial debt level is 7.6 out of 10.

Of note, six in ten (61%) New Brunswick residents rate concern as 8, 9 or 10 on the 1 to 10 scale, while
four in ten (42%) rate their concern as 10 out of 10.

Concern with the current provincial debt level is lower in the northern part of the province than
elsewhere. Across the population, concern is higher among residents 55 years of age or older and
among Anglophone residents.

It is clear that a majority of New Brunswickers have a high level of concern regarding the current debt
burden of the province, said Don Mills, Chairman and CEO of Corporate Research Associates. It is also
clear that provincial debt will continue to increase over the near-term.

These results are part of the CRA Atlantic Quarterly, an independent, quarterly telephone survey of
Atlantic Canadians, and are based on a telephone sample of 405 adult New Brunswick residents,
conducted from February 8 to March 1, 2017, with overall results accurate to within 4.9 percentage
points, 95 out of 100 times.

Corporate Research Associates (CRA), www.cra.ca, is one of Canadas leading public opinion and market
research companies. Founded in 1978, CRA is dedicated to providing clients with state-of-the-art
research and strategic consulting services. CRA is a Certified Gold Seal Member of the Marketing
Research and Intelligence Association (MRIA), which sets stringent standards as a condition of
membership, and enforces those standards through independent audits. Follow us on Twitter
@CRAInsight.

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For more information, please contact:

Don Mills, Chairman and CEO at (902) 493-3838
Margaret Brigley, CRA President and COO at (902) 493-3830

Ce communiqu de presse est galement offert en franais.

 CRA Atlantic Quarterly Winter 2017
New Brunswick Results

Sample: 405 New Brunswickers (18 years plus)

Interview Dates: February 8 to March 1, 2017
Overall Margin of Sampling Error: 4.9 percentage points (95% confidence level)