Canadians Split on Expanding `War on Terrorism' to Take Down Iraq President Saddam Hussein

Toronto, ONTARIO - According to an Ipsos-Reid/Globe & Mail/CTV poll released today, Canadians appear to be split on the idea of expanding the `War on Terrorism' to include military action against Iraq.

Half (51%) of Canadians indicate support for possible American military action aimed at removing Iraq President Saddam Hussein from power -- however, almost as many (44%) do not support such military action.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail/CTV poll conducted between February 19th and February 21st, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1996 Census data.

President George W. Bush stated in the State of the Union address last month that Iraq, along with Iran and North Korea formed an `axis of evil', for their support of terrorist activity against Western nations, especially the United States. In addition, since the resolution of the Gulf War a decade ago, Saddam Hussien has thwarted United Nations attempts to monitor Iraq's arsenal of weapons, which is assumed to include weapons of mass destruction.

As an expansion of the `War on Terrorism', President Bush has indicated that the United States may commit a military force to remove Iraq President Saddam Hussein from power. In noting that President George W. Bush has stated that Iraq leader Saddam Hussein harbours weapons of mass destruction and is a member of the axis of evil along with Iran and North Korea, the American President has indicated that the United States may commit a military force to remove Iraq President Hussein from power, half (51%) of Canadians indicate that they support such a move, while almost as many (44%) say that they oppose this possible action.

• Regionally, those in Atlantic Canada (62%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (60%) and Ontario (58%) are more likely to express support, while residents in Quebec (34%) are least likely to be in support of this action. Albertans (43%) and British Columbians (51%) and are more split on the idea.
• Men (58% versus 45% of women) are more likely to support this move.
• Canadians between the ages of 35 and 54 (55%) are more likely than those older (47%) to support this expansion of the `War on Terrorism', while younger Canadians (52%) are closer to the national average.
• Those Canadians from households with incomes of over $60,000 (55%) are more likely to support this move compared to those from households with incomes of less than $30,000 (49%) or those in the middle household income group (52%).

To view the complete release and tables, please download the attached PDF file.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Public Affairs
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900