Nearly half of Canadians say university anti-Israel encampments should be dismantled

Roberto Wakerell-Cruz
  |   May 08, 2024   |   Be the first to comment

A recent opinion poll found nearly half of Canadians are against the anti-Israel encampments that have emerged on university campuses across the country.

The poll suggests that just 31% of those who took the Leger survey last week support the encampments, while just shy of half (48%) were against the demonstrations.

One in five said "they don't know."

A further 44% of Canadians responded that the encampments should be dismantled as they may be a threat to campus safety and the safety of students, while almost one-quarter (23%) believe they should be tolerated and accepted as a form of free speech and freedom.

One-third think the protests should be dismantled on the condition that the protesters voice antisemitic views or propagate hate speech.

Canadians aged 18 to 34 are more likely to think that encampments should be tolerated, with 33% responding that way.

Protests have been condemned by the premiers of both Ontario and Quebec, with protests still ongoing at the University of McGill in Montreal and the University of Toronto.

Protests have also popped up on the campuses of several British Columbia universities and the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, though the premiers of those provinces have yet to condemn the protests.

The survey also went into Canadians' accommodation of immigrants; 59% of Canadians feel that various minority groups in Canada are excessively assertive in their demands, with a similar proportion (54%) believing that Canadians are overly accommodating towards these demands. Those aged 55 or older are more inclined to support these views, with 70% and 60% respectively agreeing.

The survey was conducted from May 3–5 with 1,519 Canadians aged 18 or older, randomly recruited from Leger's online panel.

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