Almost three-in-five oppose the protests and blockades against restrictions and mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Vancouver, BC [February 24, 2022] – Most Canadians are not supportive of the people who have participated in protests and blockades against restrictions and mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 59% of Canadians oppose the protests and blockades, while 35% are in favour of them and 6% are not sure.
The highest level of rejection to the protests and blockades is observed in Atlantic Canada (66%), followed by British Columbia (62%), Alberta (also 62%), Quebec (60%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (59%) and Ontario (55%).
A slight majority of Canadians aged 18-to-34 (52%) oppose the protests and blockades. The proportion is higher among Canadians aged 35-to-54 (54%) and aged 55 and over (71%).
“Almost two thirds of Canadians who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 (64%) voice opposition to the protests and blockades,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Conversely, seven-in-ten Canadians who have not been vaccinated (70%) are supportive.”
More than four-in-five Canadians (81%) say they are following news stories related to the protests and blockades “very closely” or “moderately closely.”
More than three-in-five Canadians (63%) think the federal government was justified in invoking the Emergencies Act to deal with the protests and blockades against restrictions and mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic, while 28% think Ottawa’s actions were unjustified.
Majorities of Canadians who voted for the Liberal Party (83%), the New Democratic Party (NDP) (67%) and the Green Party (53%) in the September 2021 federal election endorse the government’s invocation of the Emergencies Act. Support is lower among Canadians who cast ballots for the Conservative Party (46%) and the People’s Party (30%) last year.
Just over four-in-five Canadians (81%) are “very concerned” or “moderately concerned” about violence breaking out at the site of protests and blockades. Slightly smaller proportions of Canadians are worried about foreign money being used to fund the activities of protestors (71%), Canada’s image in the world being negatively affected by the protests and the federal government’s actions (70%), and the federal government relying on the Emergencies Act to end other protests in the future (65%).
More than three-in-five Canadians (65%) disagree with the notion that the federal government should be overthrown. Just over one-in-four Canadians (26%) agree with this statement, including 30% of Albertans, 30% of Ontarians, 46% of Conservative voters and 55% of People’s Party voters.
Majorities of Canadians disagree with three other ideas: that the people protesting against restrictions and mandates are fighting for freedom (64%), that the actions of the people protesting against restrictions and mandates are justified (58%) and that all COVID-19 mandates and restrictions should be repealed (54%).
Methodology: Results are based on an online study conducted from February 18 to February 20, 2022, 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, 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