According to a Leger survey, half of Canadians are opposed to the anti-Israel encampments that have sprung up on Canadian campuses over the last couple of weeks in support of the Palestinian cause.
Of the 1,519 randomly recruited Canadians surveyed from May 3 to 5, 2024, 48% said they opposed the encampments.
32% said they strongly opposed the encampments, while 16% said they somewhat opposed the occupations.
Around one-third support the campers, and another 21% said they didn’t know how they felt, though only 11% of those surveyed said they strongly supported the protests.
Canadians aged 55 or older were more likely to oppose the encampments. 66% opposed them, and 48% of people in that age bracket were in strong opposition.
Of Canadians aged 18-34, 45% support the encampments overall, but only 19% declared strong support for the protest.
Almost half, 44%, of Canadians said the protests should be shut down as they may be a threat to the safety of students, and another 33% said they should only be shut down if protesters voice antisemitic views or propagate any form of hate speech.
Among Canadians aged 18-35 years old, there was an almost even split of young adults who believed the protests should be allowed, shut down for safety reasons, or only shut down if they were propagating hate speech.
Of those 55 years or older, over half, 54%, thought the campus encampments should be shut down over safety concerns.
17% of Canadians surveyed reported hearing antisemitic comments publicly or from colleagues or acquaintances since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
The survey also found that 59% of Canadians feel that various minority groups in Canada are “too demanding in their claims” when it comes to reported difficulties that they face.
54% said Canadians were too accommodating towards the claims of minorities, while 37% said they were not attentive enough.
Ages 55 and up were more likely to believe minorities are too demanding in their claims, with 70% agreeing and 60% saying Canadians are too accommodating to their claims.
The young adult group aged 18-34-year-olds were more close to being evenly split.
45% of young adults said Canadians need to be more attentive to the claims of minorities, while 47% said Canadians are too accommodating.
