Majority of Canadians favor mandatory vaccination: poll

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) - An overwhelming majority of Canadians favor mandatory vaccinations for public service and vaccine passports for train and air travelers, according to a poll released Thursday.

The poll, commissioned by Global News, found that more than 80% of respondents agreed with mandatory vaccinations for teachers, health care workers and public servants.

The same percentage favored proof of vaccinations -- vaccination passports -- for train and air travelers, including domestic flights.

“What the data is showing is that if people think there’s a public debate among Canadians about how one should be dealing with COVID-19 when it comes to vaccines, there really is no debate,” said Darrell Bricker, Chief Executive Officer of Ipsos Public Affairs poll. “People think that vaccines should be ubiquitous, and they think that they should be directed and even mandatory.”

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau, who in the lead up to the Sept. 20 federal election cannot, under Canadian regulations, use the prime minister designation, has already said public servants must be vaccinated or there will be consequences, stopping short of saying workers will be fired.

The poll found Canadians consider the pandemic a top election issue regardless of the political party they support.

Official Opposition Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole, in stark contrast to Trudeau's Liberal government, said, if elected, he would not make public servants get vaccinated. He accused Trudeau of creating a political "wedge" to divide Canadians, Global reported.

But about 75% of those who identified as Conservative supporters were for mandatory vaccinations, a fact that could haunt O'Toole on Election Day.

When it came to support for vaccine passports for entry into businesses such as restaurants, 72% were in favor, and Conservative supporters stood at 67%.

The Ipsos poll, conducted last weekend, included 1,500 Canadians from all areas of the country and more than 25% named the pandemic as the top election issue.

Other significant issues named were health care, the economy and climate change.