Ipsos-Reid April Fool's Day Survey Ranks Canada's Greatest Comics

TORONTO,March 31 2002 --The Comedy Network is thrilled to announce that
Canadians have chosen Jim Carrey as their favourite comedian of all time.
Carrey tops off a list of "Canada's Favourite Fools: The Top 10 Canuck
Comedians of All Time," released today as part of The Comedy Network / Ipsos-
Reid 2nd Annual April Fool's Day Poll.
    When asked on an open-ended basis who is their favourite Canadian
comedian or comedy troupe of all time, just over one-in-ten Canadians (12%)
chose Carrey, the former Toronto native who is now one of the most highly-paid
actors in Hollywood. Rounding out the list are (No. 2) Wayne & Shuster, (No.
3) John Candy, (No. 4) the cast of ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FARCE, (No. 5) Kids in
the Hall, (No. 6) Martin Short, (No. 7) Mike Myers, (No. 8) the cast of THIS
HOUR HAS 22 MINUTES, (No. 9) the cast of SCTV and (No. 10) Mike Bullard.
    "Everyone knows that Canada produces the best comedic talent in the
world," says Ed Robinson, President and General Manager of The Comedy Network.
"And with so many amazing comedians, I can't imagine a more difficult task
than to try to pick a favourite."
    An interesting difference is between the choices by age groups. Canadians
between 18 and 34 (23%) are more likely than those 55 years of age or older
(2%) to choose Jim Carrey as their favourite Canadian comedian. Older
Canadians (22%) are more likely to cite Wayne and Shuster as their favourite
funny Canadian than younger Canadians (0%).
    Quebecers differ from Canadians in other regions in their choice of
favourite homegrown comedians. Each of the top favourites of Quebecers was not
mentioned by anyone outside of that province. The top five favourites of
Quebecers are (No. 1) Yvon Deschamps, (No. 2) Rock et Belles Oreilles, (No. 3)
Jean Michel Anctil, (No. 4) Lise Dion and (No. 5) Daniel Lemire. If these
results were included in the English Top 10 List, Quebec favourite Yvon
Deschamps would rank at No. 5.
    "Canada's Favourite Fools: The Top 10 Canuck Comedians of All Time" will
be profiled in the April 6 issue of TV Guide, on stands April 1.
    The Comedy Network / Ipsos-Reid 2nd Annual April Fool's Day Poll gauges
the Canadian funny bone. For more information, please see additional findings
released today: "62% of Canadians Would Buy a $3.00 Coin" and "The Comedy
Network's 2nd Annual April Fool's Day Poll Reveals the State of Humour in
Canada."

    Below are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Comedy Network poll conducted
between March 5th and March 13, 2002. This poll is based on a randomly
selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the
results are considered accurate to within (+/-) 3.1 percentage points, 19
times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian
population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and
for other sub-groupings of the survey population. This data was statistically
weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that
of the actual adult Canadian population according to the 1996 Census.

    For full tabular results, please visit the Ipsos-Reid Web site at
www.ipsos-reid.com.

    For comment on The Comedy Network's April Fool's Day Poll, interviews are
available with Ed Robinson, President and General Manager for The Comedy
Network and John Wright, Senior Vice-President, Public Affairs for Ipsos-Reid.




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For further information: To set up interviews or for more information,
please contact: Scott Henderson/(416) 985-8474