While Majority (73%) Agree that Canada Should Join the United States and Also Declare War on International Terrorism it is Conditional as Support Falls to Just Over Half (54%) if War Exposes Canadian Civilians to Attack by Terrorists
Toronto, ON - A new Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll released today indicates that while the majority of Canadians (73%) are prepared to join the United States and also declare war on international terrorism it is conditional -- support drops to 54 percent if Canadians knew that it could expose civilians in Canada to attack by terrorists.
And in this prelude to a new type of warfare, while Canadians may be anxious about terrorists within Canada who may be waiting to attack civilians, and may not have strong confidence in the government and security services to prevent terrorist attacks in this country, Prime Minister Jean Chretien receives strong approval (74%) for his handling of issues related to the terrorist attacks that took place in the United States last week.
The poll was conducted between September 17, 2001 and September 20, 2001 and is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 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 Canadian Census data.
While the support across Canada for joining the U.S. in declaring war on international terrorism reflects the views of almost three-quarters of the population (73%), there are some regional variations. Albertans (86%), Atlantic Canadians (82%) and Ontarians (79%) are most likely to advocate joining the U.S. in its war on terrorism whereas British Columbia (72%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (72%) and Quebec (59%) have lower levels of support. Middle-aged (75%) and older (74%) are slightly more likely than younger (71%) to support the effort. And men (79%) are more likely than women (68%) to also commit support.
However, when those who have indicated their support to declare war on international terrorism (73%) are asked if they would "still be prepared to join the war if you knew that it could expose civilians in Canada to attack by terrorists", the support drops to, overall, 54 percent. In other words, of the initial 73 percent who support the effort, only 74 percent of that group remain steadfast and another 24 percent indicate that they would no longer join in the effort.
Regionally, this is most evident in Quebec where support drops to 31 percent, in Saskatchewan/Manitoba to 58 percent and in British Columbia to 61 percent. Alberta support drops to 67 percent followed by Atlantic Canada 66 percent and Ontario 62 percent. Support among men drops to 63 percent and among women to 47 percent. Support among younger Canadians (18 - 34) drops from 71 percent to 48 percent -- the lowest level of support in the age categories. The other age categories of 35 to 54 drop to 57 percent, and those over 55 drop to 59 percent.
Underlying this view is that a majority (55%) of Canadians believe there are "international terrorists within Canada who are just waiting to attack Canadian civilians". This is most pronounced in Alberta (60%), Ontario (57%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (57%) and only slightly less so in Atlantic Canada (56%), British Columbia (55%), and Quebec (50%). Women (56%) are slightly more than men (54%) to believe this with older (65%) and middle-aged (55%) more likely than younger (48%) to believe this.
In this regard, only 39 percent of Canadians are "confident that the government of Canada and its security services are capable of preventing terrorist attacks in Canada" with the highest levels of agreement in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (47%) and British Columbia (44%). Nationally, 60 percent disagree that they are confident -- highest in Alberta (69%) followed by Atlantic Canada (62%), Quebec (62%), Ontario (58%), British Columbia (56%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (53%).
And when it comes to giving our security services more power to fight terrorism -- even if it means that they might "tap my phone, open my mail or read my personal e-mail" -- only half (53%) indicate that they are prepared to do so. Highest support comes in Ontario (61%) with lowest support in Quebec (41%). Those over 55 (64%) and middle-aged (55%) are more prepared to do so than younger Canadians (41%).
With the volatile situation in the world becoming even more on edge, one in five (21%) believe that "we are headed for a nuclear war as a result of the events of last week and the war on terrorism" -- which is most pronounced in Alberta (32%) and Atlantic Canada (26%). This is also more of an issue for women (27%) than men (15%). Overall, three-quarters (77%) of the Canadian population do not share this view.
Prime Minister Jean Chretien gets good marks from the Canadian public in handling of issues related to the terrorist attacks that took place in the u.s. last week. Overall, 74 percent approve of his handling of the issues versus 22 percent who disapprove. The highest levels of approval are in Saskatchewan/Manitoba (81%), Quebec (76%), Atlantic Canada (76%) and Ontario (74%) with lower approvals in British Columbia (69%) and Alberta (64%).
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Darrell Bricker
President & COO
Public Affairs
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900
