What a difference a couple of weeks can make.
At the beginning of JAN, the non-profit Angus Reid Institute conducted a survey of Canadians about their attitudes towards their support of COVID government public health restrictions.
It surveyed them again last week and the change in results may surprise - and indicate a changing appetite for the resumption of travel.
The earlier poll, conducted 7-12JAN, found that only 39 per cent of Canadians agreed with the statement: “It’s time to end restrictions, and let people self-isolate if at risk.”
In only two weeks, that percentage jumped from just over a third to over half - a full 15 per cent.
The same survey conducted 27-28JAN found that Canadians agreeing with that statement were now in the majority, with 54 per cent in agreement.
Majority (54%) now say they want all restrictions to end – increase of 15-points since early Januaryhttps://t.co/RDx8Z7wX9t pic.twitter.com/FhlVTBoJTk
— Angus Reid Institute (@angusreidorg) January 31, 2022
“If Omicron cases have indeed peaked, it has many Canadians asking what is next,” the survey report said.
“Vigilance is the request from public health officials… The public sentiment appears to be moving in the direction of opening up.”
Perhaps not surprisingly, there are regional disparities in the results. Half of Albertans surveyed favoured ending ALL restrictions, while 32 per cent of Nova Scotia residents want to see all COVID restrictions lifted.
Age and gender also factored in. Men under 55 were most likely to want restrictions removed entirely, while women over 54 were most likely to oppose dropping all restrictions.
Furthermore, the survey found that, “A majority of Canadians agree – more than half (55%) say they believe they will be exposed and infected by Omicron no matter what they do.”
