Just over a third think no COVID-19 mandates and restrictions should have been implemented.
Vancouver, BC [April 10, 2025] – More than half of Canadians think the federal government made the right call in invoking the Emergencies Act during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 56% of Canadians think the actions of the federal government were justified (-2 since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in April 2024), while 31% (-1) consider them unjustified and 13% (+2) are not sure.
Public support for the federal government’s decision is higher among Canadians who voted for the Liberal Party in 2021 (73%) than among those who supported the New Democratic Party (NDP) (67%) or the Conservative Party (47%) in the last federal ballot.
In January and February 2022, a series of protests and blockades against restrictions and mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic took place in Ottawa and other parts of Canada. Almost seven-in-ten Canadians (69%, -2) say they followed news stories related to the protests and blockades “very closely” or “moderately closely.”
Canadians are divided when assessing the protests and blockades, with 46% (-4) saying they opposed them and 43% (+2) saying they supported them.
“Opposition to the anti-mandate protests varies greatly by age,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “While only 39% of Canadians aged 18-to-34 were opposed, the proportions grow to 41% among those aged 35-to-54 and to 61% among those aged 55 and over.”
Half of Canadians (50%, +5) say the people protesting against restrictions and mandates were fighting for freedom. More than two-in-five (43%, +1) think the actions of the people protesting against restrictions and mandates were justified.
Fewer Canadians agree with two other statements: that the federal government should be overthrown (35%, +1) and that no COVID-19 mandates and restrictions should have been implemented (34%, =).
More than three-in-five Canadians (61%, +2) are “very concerned” or “moderately concerned” about Canada’s image in the world being negatively affected by the protests and the federal government’s actions.
Larger proportions of Canadians are worried about three other issues: the federal government relying on the Emergencies Act to end other protests in the future (64%, -1), foreign money being used to fund the activities of protestors (70%, +5) and violence breaking out at the site of protests and blockades (77%, +1).
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted on March 23 and March 24, 2025, among 1,003 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. 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