Poll shows 51% of Canadians believe Freedom Convoy was 'threat to national security'

The Angus Reid poll says 51% of Canadians believe the convoy posed a threat of espionage, sabotage, foreign influence, serious violence, or an overthrow of the Canadian government.

Poll shows 51% of Canadians believe Freedom Convoy was 'threat to national security'
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
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According to a new poll, over half of Canadians perceived the Freedom Convoy as a threat to national security.

The Angus Reid poll said 51% of Canadians believed the convoy posed a threat of espionage, sabotage, foreign influence, serious violence, or an overthrow of the Canadian government.

The pollster provided respondents with these terms to match the terms needed by government officials to invoke the Emergencies Act, formerly known as the War Measures Act.

However, Angus Reid noted that the Public Order Emergency Commission heard testimonies that said the federal government lacked the justification to use the Emergencies Act.

But eight-in-ten Liberal voters said the federal government met the criteria, while only two-in-ten Conservatives shared that opinion. 

Half of all Canadians said the Act was needed to clear protesters. 

One-in-four said invoking the Emergencies Act was unnecessary, while one-in-six said the government did not need to take action to clear protesters.

According to Nanos polling from December, Canadians overwhelmingly supported invoking the Emergencies Act against the Freedom Convoy.

Nearly two-thirds of respondents 'supported' or 'somewhat supported' the precedent-setting decision against the convoy protests that gridlocked the capital and jammed some border crossings. Only 30% 'opposed' or were 'somewhat opposed' to invoking the Emergencies Act, with 4% unsure.

Support for using the Emergencies Act was highest in Atlantic Canada, where three-quarters indicated they 'support' or 'somewhat support' the decision, with 73.4% in Quebec saying they at least 'somewhat support' the use of the act. However, the most vigorous opposition came from the Prairies at 43.7%.

Despite the controversy surrounding the federal ministers requesting military equipment and vehicles to counter the protests, Nanos Research founder Nik Nanos said, "a majority of Canadians are on board with what was done." 

The group that came out looking the worst was the protesters themselves, with 46% of respondents believing the protesters left a 'worse impression' than 23% who said the same for the federal government.

Nanos claimed that the inquiry didn't become a political liability for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or his cabinet.  

According to an Angus Reid poll released in May 2022, only 46% of Canadians agreed that invoking the Emergencies Act was 'necessary' to give police the resources to end the protest. But 34% of Canadians and 51% of Conservative voters felt it was 'unnecessary.'

However, 79% of Liberal supporters and 58% of New Democrats agreed with the use of the Emergency Act. 

Another 45% said the Trudeau Liberals set a good example of how other governments should do it, while 44% disagreed.

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