OTTAWA – Support for mandatory vaccines or a vaccine passport is growing in Canada, according to a new survey from the Angus Reid Institute.
The poll shared Wednesday indicates about 70 per cent of Canadians are in favour of requiring proof of vaccination to get into public spaces or events.
Three-quarters are in favour of the passport for people attending large events of 50 people or more, seven in 10 agree it should be used to access places in our communities, like restaurants, malls, and churches.
Sixty-six per cent want to see a passport used in more workplaces.
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Support for a vaccine passport has also grown in Alberta, where Premier Jason Kenney and the UCP have avoided the idea.
Angus Reid now says 54 per cent of Albertans polled say they want to see a vaccine passport implemented, up from 46 per cent when the pollster previously posed the question in July.
Canadians are somewhat split on what consequences for not providing proof of vaccine should be.
Two in five believe people should be arrested and charged, 44 per cent believe people should be asked to leave the premisise, but not punished further, and 39 per cent believe that people should face a fine.
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Similarly, a recent Leger poll found 56 per cent of Canadian respondents said they “strongly support” provincial vaccine passports for indoor places including bars, restaurants, gyms, concert halls and festivals when asked last week, while another 25 per cent said they “somewhat support” the measure.
Seven per cent were somewhat opposed and 13 per cent were strongly opposed.
Half of Canadians believe unvaxxed don’t deserve same medical treatment
The fourth wave of COVID-19 has been called the pandemic of the unvaccinated by medical health experts and political leaders in Canada and the U.S.
And as more unprotected people become ill, more Canadians wonder if they deserve the same medical treatment as those who’ve rolled up their sleeves.
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The Angus Reid poll found that nearly half of Canadians believe their unvaccinated counterparts should not have the same claim to priority treatment.
The other half, 54 per cent, believe that everyone deserves the same priority treatment, regardless of vaccination status.
A new poll finds 50% of Canadians say the unvaccinated don’t deserve the same priority for medical treatment. What do you think?
— Scott Fralick (@ScottFralick) September 8, 2021
Most provinces have similar splits in opinion, except those in Atlantic Canada where 66 per cent believe everyone should receive the same medical care.
Vaccinated men over 55 years old and vaccinated women between 35 and 54 were most likely to believe the unvaccinated should be deprioritized.
