More than four-in-five Canadians say they wear a mask every time they go out, up 12 points since September.
Vancouver, BC [December 1, 2020] – Almost two thirds of Canadians hold negative views on what the COVID-19 pandemic has in store, and three-in-four believe it is time to restrict travel inside their province, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 64% of Canadians say the worst of the pandemic is “definitely” or “probably” ahead of us. This represents an 18-point increase since September, and the second highest level recorded on this question (68% in a poll conducted in April 2020).
Public support for two regulations established by the federal government remains extremely high, with 92% of Canadians agreeing with the decision to keep the border with the United States closed to non-essential travel and 90% in favour of placing all travellers arriving to Canada into a mandatory 14-day quarantine or isolation period.
Sizeable majorities of Canadians also endorse two other measures: prohibiting non-essential travel from one province to another (82%) and prohibiting non-essential travel inside their province (75%).
Nine-in-ten Canadians (90%) agree with requiring all customers or visitors entering an indoor premise to wear a mask or face covering while inside, while 50% are in favour of allowing K-12 students to go back go in-class learning in their province.
Across the country, 63% of Canadians are satisfied with the performance of the federal government in handling the COVID-19 pandemic, down one point since September. More than three-in-five respondents also provide a positive assessment of their provincial administrations (64%) and their municipal governments (62%).
“In the four most populous provinces, the highest level of satisfaction with the way COVID-19 has been managed is observed in British Columbia (70%),” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The numbers are slightly lower in Quebec and Ontario (each at 68%), while Alberta fell to an all-time low (46%).”
More than seven-in-ten Canadians (73%, +1) say they will “definitely” or “probably” take a vaccine against COVID-19 if one ultimately becomes available, while 14% would not and 13% are not sure.
More than four-in-five Canadians (82%) say they are wearing a mask every time they go out, up from 70% in September. Just under a third (31%) are cleaning the groceries they buy to prevent infection, and one-in-five (20%) are not ordering food from restaurants at all because they fear infection.
Just over one-in-five Canadians (21%) say they are overeating more than usual at home, while 15% are losing their temper more often and 12% are drinking alcohol more often.
About one-in-seven Canadians (13%) are having a bath or shower less often than before the pandemic and 7% acknowledge that they are brushing their teeth less often than before.
Methodology:
Results are based on an online survey conducted from November 22 to November 24, 2020, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca