Two-Thirds of Canadians Believe Police Favour Some Protesters Over Others

A protester holds a sign that reads "From Turtle Island to Palestine" at a rally in downtown Toronto on Oct. 9, 2023. (Andrew Chen/The Epoch Times)

Around two in three Canadians believe that police treat some protesters better than others, with those of differing political stances believing police treat their political opponents more favourably, a new poll states.

According to an Angus Reid survey survey published on May 2, 64 percent of Canadians believe police give some groups preferential treatment

Among those who support the Conservatives, most said that they felt police were more favourable to pro-Palestinian demonstrations and other left-wing causes, while those who support the Liberals and the NDP believe that right-wing protesters or pro-Israel demonstrators were shown leeway by law enforcement.

Protests have been a regular occurrence for many Canadians living in big cities for the last several years, with weekly protests seen during the COVID-19 restrictions in cities like Toronto taking place over a period of months, and more recently weekly pro-Palestinian demonstrations that have been occurring each week since the Oct. 7 attacks by the terrorist group Hamas in Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza.

The survey found that two out of every five Canadians living in urban areas say they have been disrupted by protests within the last six months as opposed to those in rural areas, where a majority say they haven’t seen a single protest at all within the last six months.

Those living in Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto, and Edmonton report the most frequent experiences with protests, with more Ottawa residents claiming that protests caused them disruption and annoyance.

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Among voting blocs, NDP supporters are less likely to view protests as an annoyance or disruption and are also more likely to state that the protests they do see are in the name of causes they support.

The survey notes that one in 10 Canadians say they have attended a protest in the last six months. Those attending the protests tend to be of younger age brackets, as older people are far less likely to attend a demonstration. For example, the survey shows that 66 percent of women over 54 have never attended a protest ever.

The treatment of protesters by law enforcement has also been a source of controversy in recent years. During the Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa, police were criticized by Ottawa residents for not removing the protesters, while protesters themselves accused the police of brutality, pointing to an incident involving a police horse and an elderly female protester in which the woman appeared to have been trampled.

Further adding to criticism of the police during the Freedom Convoy were leaked messages from officers who bragged about using brutal force against the protesters.

More recently, police in Toronto were criticized by politicians after video emerged of an officer delivering coffee provided by some protesters to another set of protesters at a pro-Palestinian demonstration.

Many politicians also criticized the police for inaction as pro-Palestine protesters made death threats or targeted Jewish neighbourhoods and synagogues. As police made arrests during one of the demonstrations in late March, pro-Palestinian groups issued statements accusing police of brutality, while the police said those arrested had assaulted police officers.

According to the survey, not only do right- and left-wing supporters believe police treat their ideological opponents more favourably, but younger people view police as being favourable to right-wing protests while older people believe pro-Palestinian protesters receive better treatment.

Angus Reid said the survey, conducted online April 25–28, included 1,707 Canadian adults. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20, Angus Reid said.