Poll Shows Clear Majority Of Canadians Say Canada Should “Do Whatever We Can To Support Our Allies Against Russian Aggression”

InsightSpencerFernando

Canadians are seeing through the Russian propaganda narratives and are standing strong in defense of our values and our allies.

A new survey by Spark Insights shows a clear majority of Canadians believe we must stand with our allies in Europe to counter the aggression of the Putin regime.

Here is the question asked:

“Which is closer to your view, whatever Putin wants to do in Europe is not really something Canada should care too much about – or Canada should care about and do whatever we can to support our allies against Russian aggression.”

Nationwide, 66% said Canada should care and do whatever we can to support our allies against Russian aggression, while 34% said we should not care.

Regionally, a majority in every region of the country think we should care.

Here are the care vs don’t care margins:

British Columbia: 69/31

Alberta: 72/28

Saskatchewan/Manitoba: 75/25

Ontario: 64/36

Quebec: 63/37

Atlantic Canada: 62/38

The partisan breakdown is also decisive in favour of Canada standing against Russian aggression.

67% of Liberal supporters, 59% of Conservative supporters, 78% of NDP supporters, and 72% of Bloc supporters think Canada should care.

The only party where a majority think Canada shouldn’t care is among the PPC, but even that party is almost evenly split with 52% saying Canada shouldn’t care, while 48% say we should.

Twitter isn’t real life

This poll comes at an important time, as Ukraine desperately needs more ammunition from the Western world, and Russia is ramping up their propaganda efforts to try and stop Ukraine from getting the assistance they need.

If you looked on Twitter (which only a fraction of the Canadian population use), you would get the sense that there are a huge number of people siding with Russia and that support for Ukraine and our European allies is unpopular.

Yet, when we look at actual Canadian public opinion, the opposite is the case.

A Pew Poll from 2023 showed 81% of Canadians had a negative view of Russia, compared to just 12% who held a positive view.

This is why it is important to remember that ‘Twitter isn’t real life.’

Russia expends a vast amount of effort on manipulating social media platforms through the widespread use of bots and through users pretending to be Western citizens. They create endless social media profiles designed to look like Canadians, who then repeated Kremlin propaganda narratives in an effort to divide our society and turn Canadians against supporting Ukraine. Sadly, some real Canadians end up falling for it.

This is why some on Twitter are surprised that Pierre Poilievre and the Conservative Party continue to express strong support for Ukraine. While that position receives a backlash online, it is widely popular across the country. As the poll noted, support for countering Russian aggression is in fact highest in Alberta and Saskatchewan/Manitoba, the Western stronghold of the Conservative Party of Canada. If the Conservatives turned against Ukraine, they would face a collapse in support in their own political heartland.

Thankfully, a clear majority of Conservatives and most Canadians are rejecting the Kremlin’s efforts to divide and demoralize us.

Even at a time of significant economic hardship for many in our country, there is a recognition that Canada must stand with our allies, stand with Ukraine, and stand against Russia. Canadians are realizing that while it many be expensive to build up our military and support Ukraine now, it will be far more expensive – in both lives and dollars – if Russia defeats Ukraine and attacks a NATO country, as that would necessitate a massive & desperate military build-up and almost certainly lead to the deaths of thousands of Canadians in Europe and a complete breakdown of the global economy.

And so, standing with Ukraine and standing with our European allies is both morally right, and also in our own national self-interest.

Canadians recognize this, and it’s time for our government to act upon it.

Spencer Fernando

Photo – Twitter

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