Strong Majority of Canadians Support Vaccination Mandates; Open to Measures Including Vaccine Passports

Toronto, ON, Aug 19^th, 2021 — The 44th Canadian Federal Election is already being dubbed “the pandemic election”, and we are barely into the first week of the campaign period. Is it any wonder then that subjects related to COVID-19 are top of mind for Canadians?

According to a recent Ipsos poll, in light of the recent mandate that vaccination will be mandatory for air and train travel as well as for public servants, Canadians show that not only do they agree with these measures, but they would support imposing a vaccine mandate for healthcare workers and teachers as well. A strong majority agree with the recently announced mandatory vaccination for federal public servants (80%) and the requirement for proof of vaccination for flying on an airplane or taking a train international or inter-provincially (82%). Similar proportions support mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers (84%), for teachers (81%), or vaccine passports to enter restaurants, gyms, or other indoor spaces (72%).

Support for these measures is expectedly strong among the Liberals and NDP. More surprisingly, despite Erin O’Toole campaigning against mandatory vaccination it appears his base feels differently as a majority of Conservative voters supported all tested policies on mandatory vaccination or vaccine passports.

Support for Pandemic Measures, by Stated Vote Intention

	Total	Cons.	Lib.	NDP	BQ	Green
Mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers	84%	79%	94%	85%	81%	84%
Proof of vaccination for flying on an airplane or taking a train (internationally or inter-provincially)	82%	78%	93%	84%	73%	81%
Mandatory vaccination for teachers	81%	74%	93%	82%	83%	80%
Mandatory vaccination for federal public servants	80%	75%	92%	80%	83%	79%
Vaccine passports (to enter restaurants, gyms, or other indoor spaces)	72%	67%	85%	75%	70%	79%

On the subject of vaccine mandates, support is high across the country, including the province of Quebec where it was recently announced by Premier Legault that vaccines would become mandatory for all healthcare workers. Ontario has also indicated that healthcare workers and teachers will be required to get the vaccine.

Support for Mandatory Vaccination for Healthcare Workers, by Region

	Total	BC	AB	SK/MB	ON	QC	ATL
Mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers	84%	85%	80%	80%	86%	78%	90%
Mandatory vaccination for teachers	81%	83%	77%	79%	85%	75%	87%

 

Canadians Place Liberals as the Party with the Best Plan for Canada Post-COVID

If this election isn’t a referendum on Justin Trudeau’s handling of the pandemic, then it could be considered a referendum on the options for a post-COVID Canada. A majority of Canadians (58%) approve of the Prime Minster’s performance handling the COVID crisis, up 4 points since May and now on par with the provincial premiers as a whole, but below local mayors (58% approve of the job their premier did, down 1 point since May; 72% approve of their local mayor’s handling, up 3 points).

Looking ahead, Canadians appear to think the Liberals would be best placed to handle the pandemic moving forward: 32% state that the Liberals have the best plan for the country’s post-COVID-19 future, with less than two in ten indicating the same for any other party (18% CPC, 12% NDP, 3% Bloc, 2% Green, 1% PPC). Three in ten (30%) say none has the best plan and that they’re all the same.

 

Healthcare and COVID-19 Pandemic Top Issues; Pandemic Increasingly Important

Taking a wider view of the issues that Canadians think are important, healthcare (31%) and the COVID-19 pandemic (26%) are named as the most important in driving how Canadians will vote, from among a list of thirty possible issues. The economy (25%), climate change (23%), and affordability/cost of living (23%) are not far behind.

The importance of most issues has remained stable from July, with the exception of the COVID-19 pandemic, whose importance has increased by 6 points in the span of just one month. This perhaps speaks to growing concern over the fourth wave of the pandemic, mask mandates in public spaces, mandatory vaccination and vaccine passports.

Top Issues
(mentioned in top three)

Issue	August 2021	July 2021
Healthcare	31%	31%
COVID-19 pandemic	26%	20%
The economy	25%	24%
Affordability and cost of living	23%	25%
Climate change	23%	24%
Taxes	18%	17%
Seniors' issues/aging population	15%	11%
Government deficits/debt	15%	12%
Housing (e.g., affordability, availability)	14%	15%
Poverty and social inequality	14%	14%
Education	10%	8%
Corruption and ethics in government	10%	12%

Note: Issues under 10% in August 2021 not shown. Please see tab 7 of the data tables for full listing.

In addition, what Canadians prioritize is certainly not the same across the country. While those living in Ontario and Quebec say that the COVID-19 pandemic is a #2 issue (behind healthcare), it has taken a back seat to other issues among Canadians living elsewhere.

Top Issues by Region

(mentioned in top three)

• British Columbia: Healthcare (28%), economy (27%), affordability and cost of living (27%), COVID-19 pandemic (24%), climate change (23%)
• Alberta: Economy (37%), healthcare (30%), affordability and cost of living (22%), COVID-19 pandemic (20%), government deficits/debt (18%)
• Saskatchewan/Manitoba: Healthcare (36%), economy (24%), COVID-19 pandemic (22%), taxes (21%), affordability and cost of living (18%) and government debt/deficit (18%).
• Ontario: Healthcare (28%), COVID-19 pandemic (28%), climate change (28%), affordability and cost of living (25%), economy (24%)
• Quebec: Healthcare (34%), COVID-19 pandemic (28%), economy (22%), climate change (21%), education (20%)
• Atlantic: Healthcare (46%), affordability and cost of living (27%), COVID-19 pandemic (26%), taxes (25%), climate change (23%)

Also of note from a regional perspective are issues that may not be as pressing as others, but nonetheless are key to understanding what citizens across the country have on their minds. More specifically:

• Albertans are more likely than the rest of the country to say they are concerned about energy, including pipelines and gas prices (17%), as well as corruption and ethics in government (15%);
• Those in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (15%) and Ontario (12%) are more likely to say that indigenous issues are a top issue for them personally;
• Women’s issues are slightly more prominent in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (10%) than in the rest of the country;
• Quebecers are more likely than those living elsewhere to say that education is a top issue (20%);
• Atlantic Canadians have more of a tendency to say that unemployment/jobs are a top issue (20%)

Liberals Trusted on COVID-19 Pandemic, Healthcare; Conservatives Trusted on Economy

While healthcare, the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy, affordability/cost of living, and climate change are the top five issues that Canadians say will be the most influential in determining their vote in this coming election, exactly which parties they believe are best-suited to lead on these issues is a different matter.

For instance, among those who say that healthcare is a top issue for them personally, the Liberals are favoured (30%), with the Conservatives (21%) and NDP (20%) statistically tied for second place. The Liberals are also seen as the party most capable of handling the COVID-19 pandemic, among those who believe that the pandemic is a top issue. While this is likely due to the Liberals actually being in power during the pandemic and being able to concretely show their response, they nonetheless have a commanding lead (48%) over any other party. Among those who say that the economy top-of-mind for them, the Conservatives (41%) are seen as the party best suited to tackle the issue. Here, the Liberals trail by eight percentage points (33%). Finally, the NDP and Greens are seen as the party best suited to deal with affordability/cost of living and climate change respectively (among those who name those issues as being important). In short, the Liberals lead on issues one and two, while the other national parties own just one issue each from among the top five.

Party Best Suited to Deal with Top 5 Issues

(among those selecting issue in top 3)

Issue	Healthcare	COVID-19 pandemic	Economy	Affordability	Climate change
Conservative	21%	14%	41%	19%	6%
Liberal	30%	48%	33%	24%	30%
NDP	20%	12%	7%	27%	19%
BQ	6%	3%	2%	1%	1%
Green	2%	2%	1%	2%	32%
Other	1%	1%	1%	1%	<1%
None of them	20%	21%	15%	24%	12%

 

Approval of Handling the Economy Split Along Party Lines

With the handling of the economy set to be a major campaign issue, it is perhaps expected that Canadians are divided about how the economy has been handled through the pandemic. Half (53%) of Canadians approve of the current Federal Government’s overall management of the Canadian economy, while 47% disapprove.

This division largely falls along party lines with Liberal voters being significantly more likely to approve of how the federal government has handed the economy (93% vs. 52% NDP, 51% BQ, 46% Green, 18% CPC) while Conservative voters are more likely to state their disapproval (82% Conservative voters disapprove).

 

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between August 13 and 16, on behalf of Global News.  A sample of n = 1,501 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

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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