A third of Albertans (34%) believe all decisions on inoculation belong to parents.
Vancouver, BC [October 9, 2025] – There has been a sizeable increase in the level of support for mandatory vaccinations for childhood diseases—such as polio or measles—in Canada, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 72% of Canadians think vaccinations for children should “definitely” or “probably” be mandatory in their province, up five points since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in October 2024.
Just under one-in-four Canadians (23%, -6) believe parents should “definitely” or “probably” be the ones deciding whether their children should be vaccinated.
A third of respondents in Alberta (34%, =) reject any mandate related to childhood vaccinations. The proportions are lower in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (22%, -8), Ontario (also 22%, -6), Quebec (21%, -10), British Columbia (also 21%, -9) and Atlantic Canada (19%, -9).
“While support for mandatory childhood vaccinations increased to 72% in 2025, it is still nowhere near the levels observed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “In 2018, almost nine-in-ten Canadians (88%) were in favour of a mandate.”
In the late 1990s, a study published in the weekly medical journal The Lancet—which has since been discredited and retracted—attempted to link childhood vaccination and autism.
More than a third of Canadians (35%, +4) think there “definitely” or “probably” is a connection between the childhood vaccine for Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) and autism.
While only 30% of women in Canada believe there is a link between the MMR vaccine and autism, the proportion rises to 42% among men.
Half of Canadians (50%, -8) believe every person should be allowed to decide if they want to get vaccinations for seasonal diseases, such as the flu. A slightly smaller proportion (46%, +8) would prefer for the flu vaccine to be mandatory in their province.
More than half of Conservative Party voters in this year’s federal election (58%) think every individual should make the decision on vaccinations for seasonal diseases. The proportions are lower among Canadians who cast ballots for the Liberal Party (44%) and the New Democratic Party (NDP) (42%).
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from September 10 to September 12, 2025, among 1,003 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian 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