More than half of Canadians agree with the decisions taken by Ottawa before and after the Russian invasion.
Vancouver, BC [March 3, 2022] – A majority of Canadians have a clear idea of the role they want the federal government to play during the international crisis between Ukraine and Russia, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 53% of Canadians think Ottawa should “definitely” (34%) or “probably” (19%) support Ukraine.
About a third of Canadians (32%) think the federal government should do nothing or avoid getting involved in the conflict, while only 1% believe Ottawa should back Russia.
“Canadians aged 55 and over (68%) are particularly empathetic of the federal government’s involvement in support of Ukraine,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “Canadians aged 18-to-34 are evenly divided, with 43% wanting to support Ukraine and 41% preferring neutrality.”
Sizeable proportions of Canadians who voted for the New Democratic Party (NDP) (67%) and the Liberal Party (65%) in the 2021 election want the federal government to side with Ukraine at this point. The proportion is smaller, albeit still a majority, among those who voted for the Conservative Party last year (53%).
Two thirds of Canadians (66%) have followed news stories related to the international crisis between Ukraine and Russia “very closely” or “moderately closely.”
At least two thirds of residents of British Columbia (66%), Quebec (69%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (71%) have been paying attention to the situation in Ukraine, along with majorities of those who reside in Ontario (65%), Alberta (63%) and Atlantic Canada (also 63%).
At the time the survey was conducted, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had announced that Canada would send $7.8 million in lethal equipment and provide a $500 million loan to Ukraine. Trudeau also established economic sanctions against the President of Russia and his inner circle.
More than half of Canadians (52%) agree with Trudeau’s decisions, while 32% disagree and 17% are undecided.
Canadians who voted for the Conservatives in 2021 are more likely to disagree with the actions of the prime minister on this file (44%) than those who supported the New Democrats or the Liberals (35% and 27% respectively).
Methodology: Results are based on an online study conducted from February 25 to February 27, 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