As COVID-19 Cases Grow Again Across Canada, Three Quarters (75%) Support Shutting Down Most Businesses If There Is a Second Wave

Toronto, ON, September 18, 2020 – As the daily number of new cases of COVID-19 in Canada continues to rise, a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News reveals that if a second wave hits Canada -- which appears increasingly likely if not already happening – three quarters (75%) agree (37% strongly/38% somewhat) that they support shutting down most non-essential businesses quickly like we did in March. Just one quarter (25%) disagree (9% strongly/15% somewhat) with the concept of a shutdown. While support for a shutdown is still strong, at 75%, this is down 8 points since July.

But where Canadians’ attitudes remain firm is the belief that the fight against COVID-19 is not over: three quarters (76%) agree (24% strongly/53% somewhat) that a second wave of COVID-19 will hit their community in the fall (down 1 point), with residents of Alberta (85%) being most likely to believe this will be the case, followed by those living in Ontario (78%), Quebec (77%), British Columbia (74%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (69%) and Atlantic Canada (65%).

As the world inches closer to a working vaccine, nearly two in three (63%) Canadians agree (30% strongly/33% somewhat) that vaccinations against COVID-19 should be mandatory for all Canadians once a vaccine is developed. Interestingly, support for a mandatory vaccine is down 9 points since July.

A majority (64%) of Canadians agree (20% strongly/44% somewhat) that they are personally concerned about contracting COVID-19. Concern is much higher among women (72%) than men (55%) – a more significant driver of attitudes than age, which shows no significant variation.

While most (71%) agree (14% strongly/57% somewhat) that they are confident that their province is prepared to deal with a possible second wave of COVID-19 this fall, three in ten (29%) disagree (7% strongly/22% somewhat) that their province is ready. Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (42%) are most likely to disagree that their province is ready to deal with a second wave, followed by those living in Alberta (33%), Ontario (30%), Quebec (29%), British Columbia (25%) and Atlantic Canada (16%).

The poll also asked Canadians to give their assessment of government response to the pandemic in a variety of areas, some of which can be compared back to their assessments in late May:

• Four in ten (38%, +11) believe that the speed at which schools are opening in their province is too great, while just 9% (-3) think the re-opening of schools hasn’t happened quickly enough. 53% (-7) think the speed of reopening has been about right. Residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (46%), Alberta (44%) and Ontario (43%) are most likely to say that schools are re-opening too quickly, while those in BC (40%), Atlantic Canada (30%) and Quebec (27%) are less likely to hold this opinion.
• Two in ten (20%, +9) believe that the financial support given by the federal government to Canadians who have lost their jobs due to COVID-19 has been too much, while 17% (-1) think it has not been enough. Most (63%, -8) continue to believe the support has been about right.
• One in ten (12%, +1) believe that the financial support given by the federal government to businesses in Canada to help keep Canadians employed has been too much, while two in ten (21%, +2) believe the amount of support has been too little. Most (67%, -3) say it has been about right.
• Eight in ten (78%) Canadians maintain that the ongoing requirement to isolate for two weeks after travel or exposure to someone with COVID-19 is about right, while relatively few believe these requirements are too much (10%) or too little (11%).
• Two in three (65%) say the ongoing closure of the border between Canada and the US is about right, while 27% would like to see even tighter regulations. Just 8% believe the border closure is too excessive.

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between September 11 and 14, 2020, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Darrell Bricker

CEO, Ipsos Global Public Affairs

+1 416 324 2001

[email protected]

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