POLL: Trudeau Liberals escape POEC Inquiry 'unscathed' as most Canadians support invoking the Emergencies Act

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.

POLL: Trudeau Liberals escape POEC Inquiry 'unscathed' as most Canadians support invoking the Emergencies Act
The Canadian Press / Sean Kilpatrick
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According to Nanos polling, Canadians overwhelmingly supported invoking the Emergencies Act against the Freedom Convoy. Supposedly, the Trudeau Liberals emerged unscathed after six weeks of intense scrutiny at the Public Order Emergency Commission.

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 federal ministers asking for 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 claims that the inquiry didn't become a political liability for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau or his cabinet. However, as long as the convoy and the inquiry remain a focus, the Official Opposition has much to lose, he said.

Canadians aged 55 or older were also more likely to support or somewhat support the decision than younger Canadians between 18 and 35. Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre publicly defended the demonstrations, and his party's lead over the governing Liberals evaporated.

According to an Angus Reid poll released in May, 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.

On November 3, Freedom Convoy organizer, James Bauder, informed the inquiry that God directed him to start a convoy in 2021. He announced a potential follow-up for February 2023. 

In response, the prime minister's national security and intelligence adviser, Jody Thomas, informed a parliamentary committee that they are already planning a 'reboot' in preparation for future protests.

University of Ottawa associate criminology professor Michael Kempa expects the follow-up convoy to be more 'unpredictable,' citing a more 'committed' protest in the absence of pandemic restrictions. He claims those protesters were "always angrier with the authority of all types – medical, scientific and government – than they ever were with vaccine mandates in particular."

Kempa also said that while police have "learned the lessons" of crowd control, he anticipates intelligence agencies will be "one step ahead of those with bad intentions who want to attach to any form of violent, anti-authority, extremist protest."

The Special Investigations Unit (SIU) quickly dropped a request for an investigation by indigenous attendee Candice Sero into the RCMP after a police horse trampled her at the Ottawa Freedom Convoy in February. They claimed she 'wasn't hurt enough.'

"As [the world has] seen, yes, I did get trampled by a horse, and for them to say that I wasn't hurt is off the wall," said Sero, who will seek justice with pending legal action against the RCMP.

A separate Nanos poll for CTV News revealed Canadians are divided on whether the country is adequately prepared for another similar protest. While 50% believe governments across Canada are 'prepared' or 'somewhat prepared' for that eventuality, 45% believe it is 'not ready' or 'somewhat unprepared.'

When explicitly asked about police preparedness for a similar protest, nearly three-tenths of respondents expressed 'less confidence' in the ability of the police to respond to a repeat protest. At the same time, a quarter said they had 'more confidence,' while over four in ten said their confidence 'remained the same.'

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