More than two-in-five Canadians believe the practice should continue to be legal under any circumstances.
Vancouver, BC [May 9, 2022] – More than half of Canadians believe the country should steer clear of starting a new argument about abortion, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 53% of Canadians think there is no point in re-opening a debate about abortion in Canada right now, down five points since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in September 2020.
Just over one-in-four Canadians (26%, +1) believe a debate about abortion is long overdue in Canada and the discussion should be re-opened, while 21% (+4) are undecided.
Three-in-ten Canadians who voted for the Conservative Party in the 2021 federal election (30%) believe the time is right for a new conversation about abortion in Canada. The proportion is lower among those who supported the New Democratic Party (NDP) (26%) and the Liberal Party (24%) in last year’s ballot.
When asked about abortion, 44% of Canadians (-4) think it should be legal under any circumstances, while 37% (+1) believe the practice should be legal only under certain circumstances. Only 10% of Canadians (+2) believe abortion should be illegal in all circumstances.
“A significant gender gap persists in Canada on the issue of abortion,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “While 49% of women in Canada think the practice should be legal under any circumstances, only 39% of men share the same view.”
On a regional basis, support for legal abortion under any circumstances is highest in Quebec (50%), followed by Saskatchewan and Manitoba (47%), British Columbia (46%), Atlantic Canada (43%), Alberta (40%) and Ontario (39%).
Canadians who voted for the New Democrats in 2021 are more likely to endorse the concept of legal abortion under any circumstances (57%) than those who cast ballots for the Liberals (48%).
More than half of Canadians who supported the Conservatives in last year’s federal ballot (54%) believe abortion should be legal only under certain circumstances. About one third (32%) think the practice should be legal under any circumstances, while 9% say it should be illegal in all circumstances.
Methodology: Results are based on an online study conducted from April 25 to April 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