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While a majority of Canadians approve of Ottawa’s apology to members of the LGBTQ community, the sentiment isn’t shared across the country and religion is a major part of that.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is apologizing to members of the community who faced government-sanctioned discrimination dating back to the 1990s and prior.
Mainstreet Research partnered with CROSSOVER, an upcoming LGBTQ political show, to find out how people feel about Trudeau’s apology.
“Almost two-thirds of those who have an opinion are supportive of the apology,” Quito Maggi, CEO of Mainstreet, told the 980 CJME Morning Show.
In fact, 49 per cent of those with an opinion approve compared to just 30 per cent who disapproved.
But when you look at the prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, those numbers show there’s much more of a divide.
In Manitoba and Saskatchewan, about 47.3 per cent disapprove of the apology compared to 35.9 who approve of it. In Alberta, those numbers are 51.8 per cent against and 36.4 per cent in approval of the apology.
“We also asked people why they either approved of the decision to make the apology or didn’t approve and among one of the top reasons was moral reasons, religious reasons for why people were opposed, that’s primarily the main reason across the prairies.”
When it came to the financial compensation Ottawa planned on doling out — about $100 million — Canadians were less receptive to that portion of the apology, with 47.5 per cent of people opposing it compared to 28.6 per cent who approved it.
One of the reasons Canadians felt against the reparations was that they are viewed as political correctness going too far.
Younger people were also seen as being more supportive of the apology, with the 18-34 demographic showing the most support.
Maggie said that wasn’t surprising.
“Attitudes towards minority rights shift over the years, people who’ve grown up in a more inclusive, accepting society of minorities including the LGBTQ community, that those younger folks are much more likely to be supportive of that apology and making any financial reparations.”
Americans also open to apology
Mainstreet research chose to interview Canada’s neighbours to the south to find out what they thought about the Prime Minister’s stance.
While only 9.5 per cent of those asked knew about Trudeau’s plans, a majority of people would be in favour of their own government doing a similar apology, with 45.1 per cent for and 38.8 per cent against.
When it came to the reparations, over 60 per cent Americans opposed them.
“Again when we asked the question of why, the number one reason in the United States was religious and morale objections.”
The report contained two separate polls. The first was an online survey conducted on Nov. 11-13 among a sample of 1505 American adults, aged 18 years or older.
The second survey was conducted on automated telephone interviews between Nov. 15-16 among a sample of 903 Canadian adults, aged 18 years or older. Landline and cell lines were included in the sample frame.
The first poll has a margin of error of +/-2.53% and is accurate 19 times out of 20. The second poll has a margin of error of +/-3.26% and is also accurate 19 times out of 20.
