Most Canadians support wearing masks during COVID-19, oppose protests: Poll

OTTAWA – The recent rise in new COVID-19 cases across Canada will increase support for mandatory wearing of masks in public places, a new survey suggests.

The Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies Online Survey Eighty-three percent said governments should order the wearing of masks in all indoor public spaces.

This represents a 16 per cent increase from July before the recent rise in COVID-19 cases, raising concerns that many parts of the country are entering a terrible second wave of the epidemic.

Even more – 87 per cent – felt that wearing a mask was a civil duty because it protects others from COVID-19, while 21 per cent felt it was a violation of personal liberty, a six per cent decline since July.

In the case of anti-mask protests in various parts of the country in recent weeks, 88 per cent of respondents said they were opposed to the demonstrations and 12 per cent said they supported them.

The online poll was conducted from September 18 to 20 and surveyed 1,538 adult Canadians. It does not assign a margin of error as Internet-based polls are not considered random samples.

“In a way, again, masquerades are an opposition minority and not a growing minority in Canada,” said Christian Bork, Leger’s executive vice president.

“The fear of catching it is growing. People believe there will be a second wave. Now people are saying masks should be made mandatory.”

Fears that the coronavirus novel, which causes an illness called COVID-19, is shrinking have been steadily rising since late June.

Sixty-one percent in this latest poll found that 145,000 Canadians were concerned about catching an infectious disease, with more than 9,200 dying. That’s up from 51 percent in mid-June.

Two-thirds said Canada was likely to enter another lockdown in the next three months, while 83 percent thought the country would experience a second wave of COVID-19 – three percent more than last week.

The poll found that most respondents over the past month have relaxed their careful adherence to public health guidelines on physical distance, wearing a mask and washing their hands.

This report of the Canadian Press was first published on September 22, 2020