In Wake of Roe v Wade, Canadians Becoming Firmer in Their Conviction for a Women’s Right to Choose

Toronto, ON, July 29, 2022 – With the issue of abortion front and centre in America following the US Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v Wade, a new Ipsos poll in Canada shows that Canadians are becoming even firmer in their belief that women have the right to access abortion services at their own choosing.

A majority of Canadians (56%) now believe that abortion should be permitted whenever a woman decides she wants one, up 13 points from Ipsos polling conducted in 2010. Conversely, just 11% now believe that abortion should not be permitted under any circumstances except when the life of the mother is in danger, down 10 points. Resting somewhere in the middle, one in three (33%) believe that abortion should be permitted in certain circumstances, up 2 points since 2010.

There is general alignment across the genders on this issue as well.

• Among women, 57% believe a women’s right to choose is paramount, while 35% say abortion should be accessible in some circumstances, and only 9% believe it should not be permitted except when the mother’s life is in danger.
• Among men, 55% support unrestricted access, while 31% would put conditions on its access and 14% of men say abortion should not be permitted unless the mother’s life were in danger, 5 points higher than women.

The chart below breaks down support for access among key demographic groups. Among nearly every demographic segment studied, at least half are in full support of a woman’s unconditional right to choose, with the notable exception of Atlantic Canadians, half of whom support restrictions. However, they are among the least to say it should never be permitted.

 

Attitudes Towards Abortion: By Gender and Age

 

	Women	Men	18-34	35-54	55+
Should be permitted whenever a woman decides she wants one	57%	55%	50%	54%	63%
Should be permitted in certain circumstances	35%	31%	36%	38%	25%
Should not be permitted unless mother’s life in danger	9%	14%	15%	8%	12%

 

Attitudes Towards Abortion: By Region

 

	BC	AB	SK/MB	ON	PQ	ATL
Should be permitted whenever a woman decides she wants one	61%	63%	51%	54%	58%	42%
Should be permitted in certain circumstances	28%	29%	35%	33%	31%	50%
Should not be permitted unless mother’s life in danger	11%	8%	14%	13%	11%	8%

 

 

While the abortion debate in the United States has been flung open, there is little appetite for a similar track in Canada. Just one in four (25%) Canadians want to reopen the issue of abortion for debate in Canada (down 9 points from 2010 when there was speculation that the Conservative government might do so), while most (61%) Canadians say we should just leave things the way they are (up 15 points). The remaining 14% of Canadian say they don’t care one way or the other (down 3 points).

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between July 12-13, 2022, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,001 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. 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:

Sanyam Sethi
Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs
[email protected]

 

About Ipsos

 

Ipsos is the world’s third largest market research company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people.

Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.

Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).

 

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