*As COVID BA.5 cases surge, Canadians’ desire to implement mask mandates or vaccine passports plunges*
/Three-quarters (74%) say masking effective, though fewer (51%) would make it mandatory in public/
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*July 20, 2022 – *Provincial governments in Canada are attempting to maintain a delicate balance amid a summer surge of COVID-19 cases, fueled by the BA.5 variant.
A new study from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds many Canadians continue to be worried <> about the risk the virus poses to their own and their families’ health. And while some are taking their own steps to prevent further spread, the appetite for government public health measures is minimal – and a fraction of what it was in previous waves.
Consider that last September amid the fourth wave of the virus, seven-in-ten Canadians (70%) said they would support a vaccine passport in their community to require residents to show proof of inoculation to enter larger public spaces; this concept is now supported by one-in-four (25%).
While masking in indoor spaces is still recommended <> by public health officials, it is not required in most public settings in Canada. Three-quarters of Canadians (74%) recognize the effectiveness of masking at reducing the spread of COVID-19, but half say they would support mandating it in public spaces (51%).
Regional, gender, and generational variations partially define the story. While vaccine passports are not palatable in any part of the country, more than half in B.C. (55%), Ontario (55%), and Atlantic Canada (62%) would accept a mask mandate in their community. This enthusiasm drops below two-in-five in Alberta (36%) and Saskatchewan (38%).
Men younger than 55, too, push back against the need for public health measures. Just one-in-three would implement a mask mandate in their community compared to a majority of all other age and gender combinations.
*More Key Findings:*
* Three-in-ten say they are wearing a mask when they are inside places like grocery stores, banks or movie theatres “most” or “all of the time”. Half (53%) say they are doing so “rarely” or “never”.
* Past Conservative voters are much less likely to find masking, vaccination, and social distancing effective at reducing the spread of COVID-19 than those who supported the Liberals, NDP or Bloc Québécois in last year’s federal election.
* Half of Canadians (47%) are frustrated by a lack of COVID-19 data in their province. A similar number (44%) say this doesn’t bother them and that they would not get much benefit from more data.
*Link to the poll here: **www.angusreid.org/* <>
