Just over a third believe no COVID-19 mandates and restrictions should have been implemented.
Vancouver, BC [March 26, 2026] – Four years after the invocation of the Emergencies Act, a majority of Canadians continue to agree with the decision taken by the federal government, a new Research Co. poll has found.
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.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, more than seven-in-ten Canadians (71%, +2 since a similar Research Co. poll conducted in March 2025) say they “very closely” or “moderately closely” followed news stories related to the protests and blockades.
Practically three-in-five Canadians (59%, +3) think the federal government’s decision to invoke the Emergencies Act to deal with the protests and blockades was justified.
Sizeable majorities of Canadians who voted for the Liberal Party or the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the 2025 federal election (78% and 66% respectively) side with the federal government’s decision. Conservative Party voters are divided: 44% think the actions were justified, while 46% consider them unjustified.
When asked to look back at their feelings during the protests and blockades against restrictions and mandates related to the COVID-19 pandemic, just over two in five Canadians (41%, -2) claim to have supported them while almost half (47%, +1) say they opposed them.
The anti-mandate protests found the support of just 33% of Canadians aged 55 and over. The proportions are larger among Canadians aged 35 to 54 (45%) and Canadians aged 18-to-34 (50%).
More than a third of Canadians (36%, +2) believe no COVID-19 mandates and restrictions should have been implemented, while more than half (54%, -5) disagree with this idea.
“A significant gender gap remains when Canadians assess COVID-19 mandates and restrictions six years after the pandemic was declared,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “While 32% of women would have preferred to have avoided these measures, the proportion rises to 41% among men.”
The survey continues to show a divided country on two additional aspects of the protests and blockades.
Canadians are almost evenly split on whether the actions of the people protesting against restrictions and mandates were justified (Agree 43%, Disagree 45%).
The notion that the people protesting against restrictions and mandates were fighting for freedom resonates positively with 45% of Canadians and negatively with 41%.
The numbers are not as close on whether the federal government should be overthrown. Just over a third of Canadians (34%, -1) agree with this contention, while more than half (51%, =) disagree with it.
At least seven-in-ten Canadians are “very concerned” or “moderately concerned” about violence breaking out at the site of protests and blockades (74%, -3) and foreign money being used to fund the activities of protestors (70%, =).
Fewer Canadians—but still majorities— are also worried about the federal government relying on the Emergencies Act to end other protests in the future (62%, -2) and Canada’s image in the world being negatively affected by the protests and the federal government’s actions (59%, -2).
Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from March 15 to March 17, 2026, among a representative sample of 1,002 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region 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