Canadians believe their province is opening too quickly: survey

Businesses are slowly beginning to reopen, but Canadian feel it is too soon. PHOTO: Wikimedia Commons

OTTAWA – Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K), a public relations and public affairs firm, has released findings from their national survey into how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting Canadians. The research found that, while 56% of Canadians believe the pace and timing of their province’s re-opening is ‘just right,’ a substantial number of Canadians, in certain provinces, believe their province is opening too quickly.

“Our data shows that 3 in 10 Canadians believe that their province is re-opening either a little too quickly or much too quickly,” said research author Elliott Gauthier, H+K’s senior vice-president of Data + Analytics, in a prepared statement. “Those numbers were higher in the Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Quebec, which are generally seen as having announced more aggressive re-opening plans.”

The survey took place the first week of May as provinces began to unveil their plans to re-open following weeks of pandemic lockdowns.

Notable findings include:

• Almost half of Albertans (46%) said their province was opening too quickly, as compared to only 39% who said the pace and timing was ‘just right’ and only 14% who said it was too slow.
• 46% of Saskatchewanians and Manitobans said their provinces were opening too quickly as compared to 49% who said the pace and timing was ‘just right’ and 6% who said it was too slow.
• 44% in Quebec said their province was opening too quickly as compared to the 45% who said the pace and timing was ‘just right’ and only 11% who said it was too slow.
• 59% of Ontarians, 70% of Atlantic Canadians, and 72% of British Columbians said they believe the pace and timing of re-opening in their provinces were ‘just right.’
• 43% of respondents aged 18-24 said their province was opening too quickly, as compared to 41% of those aged 25-34; 31% of those aged 35-44; 30% of those aged 45-54; 24% of those aged 55-64; and 25% of those aged 65+.

“The demographic trend shows that the younger a person is the more likely they are to think their province is opening back up too quickly,” said Gauthier. “It’s also noteworthy that only 1 in 4 seniors in Canada feel this way despite being at a much higher risk statistically. Ultimately, for both groups, this correlates to the degree of trust they have in government institutions; the older you are the more likely you are to trust in your government’s plan.”