In light of the pandemic, governments around the world have reacted in a variety of ways. In Canada there have been at various times some or all of the following including, lockdowns, ordered closings of most businesses, mandatory mask wearing, tracking apps, travel limits,limits on gatherings, informant lines, heavy fines for infractions, and so on.
A national survey by the firm Maru/Blue of their online panel now finds a substantial portion of Canadians have some doubts about the reasons for these actions.
The survey of 1.518 Canadians found that only a slim majority (54%) believed the politicians were making these decisions based on “real medical evidence” Well over a quarter of respondents (28%) thought actions were being enforced based upon politicians “best guesses”. A substantial percentage (18%) however felt that these actions were being taken based on “political considerations”.
By region, the western province of Alberta had the highest degree of skepticism with only 49 per cent believing decisions were being made on real medical evidence, with 28 per cent feeling political considerations were involved.
The east and west coast respondents were those who believed strongly that government actions were based on real medical evidence (Atl-68%, B.C-67%)
By gender, slightly more women than men felt decisions were based on evidence (57% to 51%). In terms of age groups, those over age 55 had the highest belief that real evidence was involved (63%)
People take part in a demonstration opposing the mandatory wearing of face masks in Montreal, Saturday, September 12, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world. A new survey finds a substantial number of Canadians think the COVID restrictions imposed are based.on ‘political considerations'” THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
The 18-34, and 35-54 age groups gave relatively similar opinions with ‘real medical evidence’ cited by 50 and 48 per cent respectively, best guess at 29 and 30 per cent, and “political considerations’ at 22 per cent each.
Interestingly when breaking answers down into income levels and education levels, there was very little difference in responses.
The survey of English an French speaking Canadians was conducted on October 27.
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