Canadian COVID-19 Policy Pulse

The results of a survey released today by Maru/Blue Public Opinion finds just under half (46%) of Canadians don’t believe that real medical evidence is being used when areas of their provincial economy are being shut down or the activities of those in their municipality are being curtailed because of the pandemic. The findings come as a “second wave” of escalating Covid-19 cases wash over the country with some areas upping restrictions in its wake.

The survey reveals that when directives come into being there are many skeptics about the veracity of the claims underpinning the decisions being made by health and political leaders across the country: three in 10 (28%) of Canadians believe that the directives are being made based on “best guess) while another one in six (18%) believe that the decisions are being made based on “political considerations”.

These views are contrasted with a small majority (54%) who believe that the pandemic inspired directives that are being made to either shut down or curtail parts of the economy or curtail the activities of citizens in their communities are being driven by “real medical evidence”.

Those least likely to believe that real medical evidence is being used to make these decisions hail from Alberta (57%), followed by those from Québec (51%), Manitoba/Saskatchewan (48%), Ontario (46%), British Columbia (33%), and Atlantic Canada (32%).