A 'penniless' Canada?
Consumers split on whether to save the cent or can the copper
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 | 5:54 PM ET
CBC News
Corner stores want to scrap the penny, but Canadians are split on the idea, according to a survey commissioned by the Royal Canadian Mint and the Department of Finance.
More than two in five consumers surveyed (42 per cent) were in favour of withdrawing the penny from circulation, while 33 per cent wanted to keep the copper, according to the survey. The rest were uncommitted.
Royal Canadian Mint figures show it made 1.16 billion pennies in 2006.
Canadians who liked the idea of being "penniless" said they wouldn't have to carry as much change if the penny disappeared. They complained that the penny is inconvenient, lacks value and is too expensive.
Those who opposed the penny's death felt prices would increase as businesses "rounded up." Other penny supporters said it holds sentimental value or they just plain liked the coin.
Those who favoured the penny's withdrawal tended to find like-minded Canadians among:
- Older Canadians (45 per cent of those over 60 favoured an end to the penny versus just 26 per cent of those under 20).
- Quebecers (by a margin of almost three to one versus an almost even split in the rest of Canada).
- Men (51 per cent of men surveyed support an end to the penny versus 35 per cent of women).
Among small retailers, the "ban the penny" crowd outnumbered the "save the cent" crowd by a margin of more than three to one.
Business owners tended to think that less change to count and less to keep on hand would make life easier for them.
Banks, charities and transit systems would also like to see the penny's demise, according to the survey.
The survey also highlighted a number of questions should Canada try to eliminate its one-cent coin.
For instance, some wonder if the GST would throw off attempts to move prices to the nearest five-cent multiple. The question remains: would retailers round up prices on every item a customer purchased, or only on the final amount?
Australia, New Zealand bid penny good-bye
The idea of doing away with the one-cent coin has been tossed around for years in Canada. Australia and New Zealand have already done away with their pennies.
In February, Desjardins Financial called for an end to the penny, saying the move could save the country $130 million a year.
It carried out a survey in 2006 that found barely a third of Canadians used pennies to make purchases.
More than 1.1 billion pennies were made by the Mint in 2006, according to its annual report.
The Mint's survey was carried out by Altitude Marketing Research this past summer (the exact dates were not disclosed). The company said it talked to 1,500 Canadians over the age of 16 and 250 representative small retailers.
