Canadians Continue to Back Boycott of Beijing 2022 Winter Games

Two thirds of Canadians (68%) say they refrain from buying products made in China at least some of the time.  

Vancouver, BC [December 9, 2021] – More than half of Canadians think the country’s athletes should avoid taking part in the next edition of the Winter Olympics, a new Research Co. poll has found.  

In the online survey of a representative national sample, 56% of Canadians think Canada should boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing over China’s human rights record.  

The level of support for a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics is exactly the same as it was in a survey conducted by Research Co. in August 2021.  

“The idea of a Canadian boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics is more attractive in Ontario (60%), British Columbia (59%) and Quebec (56%),” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “The numbers are lower in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (51%), Atlantic Canada (50%) and Alberta (49%).”  

Similar proportions of Canadians who voted for the Liberal Party (61%), the Conservative Party (59%) and the New Democratic Party (NDP) (58%) in this year’s federal election are in favour of a boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics.  

Seven-in-ten Canadians (70%) are worried about the health and safety of Canadian athletes who participate in the Beijing Winter Olympics, and 45% say they will make a conscious effort to refrain from watching the games.  

Almost three-in-four Canadians (74%) believe athletes who want to protest China’s human rights record during the 2022 Winter Olympics should be able to do so, and a slightly smaller proportion (71%) think the International Olympic Committee (IOC) should not punish those who actually speak out.  

Across the country, 52% of Canadians claim to check labels “all the time” or “most of the time” to see where the products they buy for the home or family were manufactured.  

More than three-in-five Canadians say they never refrain from buying products made in Europe (68%), the United States (62%) and Mexico (56%), while just under half follow the same course of action for goods manufactured in Russia (49%) and India (48%).  

Only 32% of Canadians say they never refrain from buying products manufactured in China, with two thirds of residents (68%) saying they avoid purchasing Chinese goods “all the time” (15%), “most of the time” (20%) or “some of the time” (33%).  

Women (70%), British Columbians (71%) and Canadians aged 55 and over (75%) are more likely to avoid acquiring products manufactured in China at least “some of the time.”