When it comes to the privatization of hydro services, car insurance, and casinos, most Manitobans don’t think it’s a good idea, according to a new poll.

The survey was conducted by Probe Research for CTV Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Free Press between Aug. 13 and 24. It asked 1200 Manitobans whether they support the privatization of services currently delivered through publicly-owned Crown services, such as electricity and natural gas, vehicle insurance, casino gambling and liquor sales.

The poll shows that for the most part Manitobans are against the idea: nearly 70 per cent are opposed to privatizing hydro services, and nearly 60 per cent don’t think casinos or vehicle insurance should be privatized.

However when it came to the privatization of liquor sales, Manitobans were split: 47 per cent saying they support it and 46 per cent saying they’re against.

When broken down further by demographic, the numbers show that younger adults, aged 18-34, are more likely to support privatization compared to those who are older.

It also shows that respondents with higher household incomes are more likely to support the privatization of retail liquor sales, and rural and northern Manitobans are somewhat more open to the idea of privatized hydro compared to Winnipeggers.

In terms of political parties, PC supporters generally showed the most backing for privatization of these services, with NDP supporters displaying the least amount of support.

Minor statistical weighting was applied to the poll to ensure age, regional and gender characteristics reflected Manitoba’s population. A statistical margin of error can’t be ascribed to an online panel, but for purposes of comparison a sample of 1200 people would have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points 95 per cent of the time.

The provincial election takes place on Sept. 10.