Canadians Views On The Anniversary Of The 2003 Iraq War

Toronto, ONT - According to the latest Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll released today, three quarters of Canadians (74%, up 3 points from 71% in December 2003) believe that Canada made the right decision by not going to war with Iraq.

Two thirds of Canadians (63%) also believe that the United States made a mistake in going to war in Iraq (up sharply 16 points from 47% in December 2003). This compares against three in ten (31%, down 13 points from 44% in December 2003) who say that the United States made the right decision.

Further, two thirds (67%) of Canadians agree that President Bush knowingly lied to the world in order to justify his war with Iraq. And, despite all of America's efforts in Iraq, a majority of six in ten (61%) agree a "true democracy will never come to the region." But nine in ten (87%) believe that the world is a better place without Saddam Hussein.

Seven in ten (69%) agree that because of what has happened, the United States "will learn a valuable lesson" that it is better for them to work with countries around the world rather than to act on their own in issues of world crisis.

Just over half of Canadians (54%) disagree that because of what happened on September 11, 2001, the United States is justified in any action it takes to protect itself from future terrorist attacks even if it means acting unilaterally and against the views of other nations such as Canada.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/Globe and Mail/CTV poll conducted between March 9th and March 11th 2004. The questions are based on a randomly selected sample of 1116 adult Canadians during this time frame. With a sample of this size, the results for each question are considered accurate to within 177 3.0 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 2001 Census data.

Three Quarters (74%) Think Canada Did Right Thing By Not Supporting U.S. In Iraq War

When asked, on reflection, whether Canada did the right thing, or the wrong thing by not supporting the United States in its war against Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, three quarters of Canadians (74%, up 3 points from 71% in December) say that Canada did the "right thing." One fifth (21%, down 5 points from 26% in December) of Canadians say that we "did the wrong thing;" with the remaining 5% saying they don't know.

• Residents of Quebec (89%) are significantly more likely than others to believe that Canada did the "right thing," followed by British Columbians (76%), Atlantic Canadians (73%), Ontarians (70%), residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (64%), and Albertans (56%).

• Men are significantly more likely than women to believe that Canada did the "wrong thing" by not supporting the U.S. (27% vs. 15%).

Two Thirds (63%) Think U.S. Made a Mistake in Going to War

After considering all things since the United States went to war with Iraq in March 2003, two thirds of Canadians (63%, up sharply 16 points from 47% in December 2003) believe that the United States made a mistake in going to war in Iraq. This compares against three in ten (31%, down 13 points from December 2003) who say that United States made the right decision. The remaining 6% of respondents say they don't know whether they made the right decision or not.

• Quebec residents (77%) are the most likely to believe that the United States made mistake in going to war in Iraq, followed by Atlantic Canadians (62%), Ontarians (62%) and British Columbians (62%), residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (49%), and Alberta (46%).

• Men are significantly more likely than women to believe the United States made the right decision in going to war in Iraq (35% vs. 27%).

• Educated respondents are the most likely to believe that the U.S. made a mistake by going to war (less than high school 53%, high school 57%, some post-secondary or college diploma 63%, and University degree 72%).

Two Thirds (67%) Believe That Bush Lied to The World To Justify War

Two thirds (67%) of Canadians agree with the statement that President George Bush "knowingly lied to the world in order to justify his war in Iraq" (27% somewhat agree, 40% strongly agree). In contrast, three in ten (28%) would disagree with this statement, believing that Bush did not knowingly lie (16% somewhat disagree, 12% strongly disagree). One in twenty (5%) say they don't know.

• Quebec residents (77%) are the most likely to agree that President Bush knowingly lied to gain support for a war in Iraq, followed by British Columbians (72%), Atlantic Canadians (66%), Ontarians (63%), residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (61%), and Albertans (58%).

• Men are significantly more likely than women to disagree with the notion that Bush lied (32% vs. 24%).

Six in Ten (61%) Agree That A True Democracy Will Never Come to Iraq

A majority of six in ten (61%) agree with the opinion that for all that has been done in Iraq a true democracy will never come to the region (36% somewhat agree, 25% strongly agree). One third of Canadians (34%) would disagree with this statement (24% somewhat disagreeing, 11% strongly disagreeing). The remaining 5% say they don't know.

• British Columbians (70%) are the most likely to agree that a true democracy will never come to Iraq, followed by Albertans (65%), Quebec residents (64%), residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (61%), Atlantic Canadians (60%), and Ontarians (55%).

• Men are significantly more likely than women to disagree that a true democracy will never come to the region (38% vs. 31%).

But, Nine in Ten (87%) Agree That The World Is Better Place Without Saddam

In light of the capture of Saddam Hussein, a large majority of nine in ten (87%) Canadians agree that the world is a better place without him (25% somewhat agree, 61% strongly agree). One in ten (11%) disagree with that the world is now a better place after Saddam's removal (7% somewhat disagree, 4% strongly disagree). The remaining 3% don't know.

• Quebec residents (21%) are significantly more likely than all others to disagree with the statement that the world is a better lace without Saddam Hussein, followed by British Columbians (9%), Atlantic Canadians (8%), Ontarians (7%), and residents of Alberta (6%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (6%).

Seven in Ten (69%) Think The U.S. Has Learned a Valuable Lesson: Don't Do It Alone

Seven in ten Canadians agree (69%) that because of what has happened the United States "will learn a valuable lesson that it is better for them to work with countries around the world rather than to act on their own in issues of world crisis" (26% somewhat agree, 44% strongly agree). Conversely, three in ten (29%) disagree that the U.S. has learned such a lesson (13% somewhat disagree, 16% strongly disagree). The remaining 2% don't know.

• Quebec residents (82%) are the most likely to agree that the U.S. has learned this valuable lesson, flowed by Atlantic Canadians (78%), residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (69%), British Columbians (66%), Ontarians (63%), and Albertans (60%).

• Women are significantly more likely than men to agree that the U.S. has learned such a lesson (72% vs. 66%).

• The least educated respondents are the most likely to agree that the United States has learned a valuable lesson (82% less than high school, 77% high school education, 69% post-secondary education, 58% of those with a University degree).

Half (54%) Disagree That Actions of U.S. Justified By 9-11

On one hand, just over half (54%) of Canadians disagree with the notion that because of what happened on September 11, 2001 and the destruction of the World Trade Center, the United States is justified in any action it takes to protect itself from future terrorist attacks even if it means acting unilaterally against the views of other nations such as Canada (20% somewhat disagree, 33% strongly disagree). On the other hand, just over four in ten (44%) agree that September 11th has given the United States justification to take such actions (26% somewhat agree, 18% strongly agree).

• There are no noticeable regional variations in opinion when it comes to this issue.

• Men are significantly more likely than women to agree that 9-11 has given the United States this justification (48% vs. 40%).

  Please open the attached PDF to view the factum and detailed tables.

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