Six in Ten (61%) Canadians say they Feel Safe in Canada, Government Doing Enough to Protect Canadians from Terrorism (60%)

Toronto, ON - Six in ten (60%) Canadians feel that the federal government is doing enough to protect Canadians from terrorism and that they feel safe in Canada (61%), but this isn't stopping a majority from believing that additional security measures - from increased airport and public-venue screening to increased surveillance - should be undertaken, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News.

Six in ten (60%) Canadians `agree' (12% strongly/48% somewhat) that `the government is doing enough to protect Canadians from terrorists', while four in ten (40%) `disagree' (12% strongly/29% somewhat) that enough is being done to protect Canadians.

The perceived safety in Canada is not stopping a majority of Canadians from supporting the implementation of various security measures to enhance that perception of safety:

• 88% support (54% strongly/34% somewhat) special security measures at the airport for passengers who come from communities that are suspected sources of terrorism.
• 83% support (49% strongly/33% somewhat) increased security screening of Syrian refugees, even if that means allowing fewer into the country at a time or at a slower rate.
• 71% support (31% strongly/40% somewhat) metal detectors at malls, public and entertainment venues.
• 59% support (21% strongly/38% somewhat) increased government surveillance of people living in Canada, including citizens.
• 56% support (20% strongly/37% somewhat) armed security guards at malls, public and entertainment venues.
• 53% support (18% strongly/36% somewhat) hand searches of purses and backpacks at entrances to malls, entertainment venues, etc.
• 51% support (22% strongly/29% somewhat) banning people from all countries compromised by terrorism.

Six in Ten (61%) Feel Safe Because they Live in Canada

Six in ten (61%) Canadians `agree' (18% strongly/42% somewhat) that they feel safe because they live in Canada, while four in ten (39%) disagree (12% strongly/28% somewhat). More specifically, two in three (66%) `agree' (21% strongly/46% somewhat) that they feel safe because of where they live in Canada. Those in Atlantic Canada (72%) Alberta (71%) and Ontario (70%) were most likely to express a feeling of safety because of where they live in Canada, while those in BC (65%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (62%) and Quebec (58%) were less likely.

While a majority of Canadians believe that Canada offers a certain amount of safety or protection, they're not being lulled into a false sense of security, believing that in the next six months, the number of terrorist attacks on anti-ISIS coalition partners, including Canada, will increase (62%). Few believe the attacks will decrease in number (5%), while one in three (33%) believe the pace will stay the same.

In fact, half (52%) of Canadians believe it is either very (9%) or somewhat (43%) likely that a large-scale, mass-casualty attack could take place in Canada within the next 12 months, although Canadians see the likelihood of this happening in their city or town of being much less (14% likely - 5% very/9% somewhat).

Even though half (52%) believe an attack on Canadian soil is at least somewhat likely in the next year, they believe the likelihood of this type of attack happening in other parts of the word is significantly greater, including in the Middle-East (93%), Europe (92%), The United States (90%), Africa (69%), Asia (64%) and South America (57%).

In the grand scheme of things, four in ten (40%) Canadians `agree' (9% strongly/31% somewhat) that `the issue of terrorist attacks in Canada has been blown out of proportion', while six in ten (60%) `disagree' (17% strongly/43% somewhat) that it has been blown out of proportion.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between July 27 to 29, 2016, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,002 Canadians aged 18+ Ipsos' online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then 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 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 Canadian adults 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:

Darrell Bricker, PhD
CEO
(416) 324-2001
Ipsos Public Affairs
[email protected]

About Ipsos

Ipsos ranks third in the global research industry. With a strong presence in 87 countries, Ipsos employs more than 16,000 people and has the ability to conduct research programs in more than 100 countries. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is controlled and managed by research professionals. They have built a solid Group around a multi-specialist positioning-- Media and advertising research; Marketing research; Client and employee relationship management; Opinion & social research; Mobile, Online, Offline data collection and delivery. Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999. www.ipsos.com