Canadians Increasingly Worried About COVID-19 Variants (88%, +7), Fourth Wave (71%, +2)

Toronto, ON, September 13, 2021 — As Canada continues through the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canadians remain worried about what the COVID-19 variants might mean for getting back to normal but are somewhat more accepting of the idea of living with the virus into the fall.

A recent Ipsos poll on conducted on behalf of Global News finds that Canadians are more worried about the fourth wave than they were when it was only a possibility (71%, +2) and are especially more concerned about COVID-19 variants delaying things getting back to normal (88%, +7). Furthermore, Canadians are now less likely to agree that the spread of less-serious COVID-19 cases is acceptable in order to live without restrictions (52%, -4), which could include mask or distancing mandates. Given the growing level of worry about COVID-19 and its impact on the country, it is no surprise that 68% of Canadians also agree that we should not be holding an election during a pandemic,[1] which has seen a 10-point increase since the end of August.[2]

Despite this, more Canadians feel we should learn to live with active COVID-19 cases as long as hospitals are not overwhelmed (70%, +3) and support for lockdown measures in light of the fourth wave has decreased (63%, -6). Taken together, this suggests that, overall, Canadians are approaching what could be considered the ever-discussed “new normal.”

While just over half (53%) of Canadians agree that the fourth wave will be worse than the others, there remains another nearly half of Canadians who do not feel the fourth wave will be worse. Just over one-third of Canadians agree that people are overreacting about the fourth wave of the pandemic (37%).

That said, there are key demographic differences and variance by vote intention when it comes to these issues. Younger Canadians are more likely to agree that the spread of less-serious COVID-19 cases is acceptable in order to live without restrictions (59% 18-34, 55% 35-54, 44% 55+). In fact, those aged 55+ are more worried than those under 55 when it comes to the fourth wave (81% 55+. 68% 35-54, 60% 18-34) variants delaying things getting back to normal (93% 55+. 87% 35-54, 82% 18-34), and the fourth wave being worse than the previous waves (60% 55+. 51% 35-54, 46% 18-34). Older Canadians are also significantly more likely to support further lockdowns (69% 55+. 61% 35-54, 57% 18-34).

Consistent with polling in July, those from BC (81%) and Atlantic Canada (75%) remain the most supportive of lockdown measures in light of the fourth wave (65% SK/MB, 64% ON, 57% AB, 49% QC). Those from Quebec appear to be most in favour of opening back up and least worried: they are significantly more likely than those in other regions to feel we should learn to live with active cases (81%, compared to 73% AB, 72% ATL, 68% SK/MB, 67% ON, 58% BC) and to feel people are overreacting about the fourth wave (48%, compared to 41% AB, 36% ON, 35% SK/MB, 31% ATL, 27% BC), continuing a trend of optimism among this group seen in Ipsos research throughout this year.

Conservative Voters More Comfortable with Living with COVID

Conservative voters are more likely to feel that the spread of less-serious cases in order to live without restrictions is acceptable (60%). In fact, Conservatives are, overall, more supportive of learning to live with active cases as long as hospitals are not overwhelmed (77%), and more likely to feel people are overreacting about the fourth wave (44%). By contrast, Liberal and NDP voters appear more worried overall, and are less supportive of learning to live with active cases or the spread of less-serious COVID-19 cases. In particular, NDP voters are least likely to see living with active cases as an acceptable future (55%) and are most worried about the variants delaying things getting back to normal (94%). Given the tight race between Conservative and Liberal federal parties, it remains to be seen whether the outcome of the election will mark a dramatic change in the handling of the pandemic.

Agreement by Stated Vote Intention

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between September 3rd and 6th, 2021, on behalf of Global News.  A sample of n = 1,500 was interviewed online, via the Ipsos I-Say panel and non-panel sources, and respondents earn a nominal incentive for their participation. Quotas and weighting were employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. The precision of Ipsos polls which include non-probability sampling is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians 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. Ipsos abides by the disclosure standards established by the CRIC, found here: https://canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/standards/

© 2021, Ipsos Limited Partnership

This polling release and the data contained in it are the sole and exclusive property of Ipsos. They are NOT designed to support any election outcome or prediction model and no license to use the polling release or the data is either granted or implied by their publication. Ipsos does not endorse, and has no responsibility for the accuracy of, the result of any predictive model that incorporates this polling data. Furthermore, any use of this information to produce polling aggregations or election models without Ipsos’ written permission will be considered a violation of our intellectual property, and Ipsos reserves the right to take appropriate legal action. Detailed tabular data tables can be found here: https://ipsosintelligence.ca/canadiancontext/

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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[1] https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/One-Five-Protests-Liberal-Events-Affect-Vote

[2] https://www.ipsos.com/en-ca/news-polls/a-quarter-of-canadians-do-not-feel-safe-going-to-a-polling-station