In the event of a future pandemic, only a minority of Canadians would support the reintroduction of school and business closures and nightly curfews as part of public health measures, according to in-house research conducted by the Privy Council Office.
The document, first obtained by Blacklock’s Reporter and released under the Access to Information Act, found that in order to prevent a widespread outbreak, only 43 percent of respondents would support school or daycare closures, just 38 percent would support business closures, while nightly curfews—which were implemented by the province of Quebec in 2022—only had the support of 26 percent of Canadians.
Respondents were more supportive of travel restrictions and border closures (54 percent), avoiding indoor gatherings with people outside of their households (53 percent), and stay-at-home orders (50 percent).
Meanwhile, 71 percent of respondents would support a mask mandate for indoor public settings, 63 percent would support the requirement to provide proof of two vaccine doses to participate in certain activities, and 61 percent would support gathering limits.
When segmented by age, older Canadians were much more supportive than younger respondents of reintroducing public health measures in the future. For those aged 18 to 34, 63 percent supported masking, 49 percent supported gathering limits, 45 percent supported travel restrictions, and 42 percent supported avoiding indoor gatherings with people outside of one’s household. For those over 55 years old, the support for those measures were much higher, at 83 percent, 76 percent, 67 percent, and 68 percent respectively.
The report also found that Canadians making less than $40,000 a year were more supportive of reintroducing public health measures if needed than those making over $100,000 a year. In addition, Canadians in Alberta and the Northwest Territories were the least supportive of reintroducing the measures overall compared to other provinces and territories
When it came to the reintroduction of proof of vaccination to engage in certain activities, older Canadians were also more supportive than younger respondents. While 55 percent of Canadians aged 18 to 34 and 55 percent of those aged 35 to 54 supported the requirement to provide proof of two vaccine doses, 75 percent of those over 55 years of age were supportive.
Of the Canadians who did not get vaccinated for COVID-19, only 2 percent supported the reintroduction of proof of vaccination requirements for certain activities, while 75 percent of Canadians who received three doses or more supported the requirement to provide proof of three doses of more for certain activities.
The report also included a 13-factor model that accounted for approximately 69 percent of the differences seen in support for reintroducing public health measures.
“Trust in government information sources, worries about another wave of COVID-19 cases, and older age were the strongest positive predictors of support for reintroducing public health measures,” the report said.
Meanwhile, support was low among “Those who were worried about lockdowns, see COVID-19 as a threat to Canadians’ freedoms and values, and are concerned about inflation and the cost of living were less supportive.”
