Support for a Canadian boycott of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics reaches 56% across the country.
Vancouver, BC [September 10, 2021] – While a majority of Canadians tuned in to this year’s Summer Olympics, almost two-in-five event watchers report that they did not pay as much attention to the competition as they had in the past, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 58% of Canadians say they watched at least some coverage of the most recent Summer Olympics, which were held in Tokyo earlier this year.
Canadians aged 18-to-34 were more likely to watch the Summer Olympics (62%) than their counterparts aged 55 and over (58%) and aged 35-to-54 (56%).
Among those Canadians who tuned in to the Tokyo 2020 games, almost two-in-five (38%) admit that they watched less coverage than in past Summer Olympics. A similar proportion (40%) enjoyed the same amount as in previous editions, while 21% say they watched more coverage.
While 46% of Canadians aged 55 and over say they watched fewer Olympic events this year, one third of those aged 18-to-34 (33%) say they were exposed to more coverage in 2021.
Canadians who watched television coverage were asked about the platforms they relied upon. Across the country, more than half of the time spent on Tokyo 2020 (52%) was enjoyed live on television, while 24% amounted to tape delayed broadcasts.
Just under a quarter of the time that Canadians spent watching the games (24%) took place via streaming, either live (12%) or tape delayed (also 12%).
“There are some sizeable age differences when it comes to the platforms that Canadians used to watch events during the Tokyo 2020 games,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “While Canadians aged 55 and over relied on streaming only 17% of the time, the proportion rises to 39% for those aged 18-to-34.”
A majority of Canadians (56%) say they think Canada should boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing over China’s human rights record, up two points since a similar Research Co. survey conducted in March.
Men (61%), Canadians aged 55 and over (60%), Albertans (61%) and British Columbians (59%) are more likely to endorse the notion of Canadian athletes not participating in the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from August 28 to August 30, 2021, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error – which measures sample variability – is +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Find our data tables here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
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