Majority of Canadians back inquiries into national, provincial pandemic responses: poll

The poll found high support for a public inquiry, even in regions where a majority of people backed provincial leaders' management of the pandemic.

A majority of Canadians favour a thorough review into how all levels of government handled the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new poll.

The survey from B.C.-based pollster Research Co. found 66 per cent of respondents backed a public inquiry into how the federal government managed the pandemic, with 23 per cent opposed.

The poll also found that more than three-in-five Canadians also backed public inquiries at the provincial level.

Research Co. president Mario Canseco said a majority of residents in every region of Canada backed the concept of provincial inquiries, regardless of whether they lived in regions with higher support for their government’s performance like B.C., Quebec and Ontario, or regions that panned government performance such as Alberta and the Prairies.

Sixty-one per cent of respondents in B.C. and Ontario said they were very or somewhat satisfied with their government’s response, compared to 59 per cent in Quebec, 41 per cent in Saskatchewan and Manitoba and 37 per cent in Alberta.

“The reality is it’s all over the country. We’re talking about a pandemic that took the lives of more than 38,000 Canadians — this is an important matter for the future … we need to make sure we are all ready for the next one,” Canseco said.

“Even though there is a high level of satisfaction with how the federal government handled it and, in particular here in B.C., we see a lot of people who say we should take note, we should do whatever is necessary to make sure the mistakes in the early stages that caused so many people to die, the mixed messages that we had for instance when it came to wearing face masks, or all the situations we had to see in the care homes, they want Canadians to sit down and figure out how not to allow something like this to happen or how to be better prepared.”

The poll also found that 82 per cent of Canadians believe COVID-19 remains a real threat, and that a declining number of residents believe the worst of the pandemic is “behind us” — 62 per cent, down 10 points from March.