TORONTO — Conservative Party supporters are less likely to want Canada to bring in more refugees, while those who support the NDP or the Liberals are more likely to think Canada should do more, a new poll finds.
The refugee and migrant crisis is making headlines around the world and has become a highly charged election issue as Canada readies to head to the polls on October 19.
READ MORE: ‘They didn’t deserve to die’: aunt of Syrian boys who drowned off Turkey
More than half (54 per cent) of people surveyed by the Angus Reid Institute think the Canadian government should take in more refugees. But that view varied widely by party affiliation:
- 62 per cent of NDP supporters
- 62 per cent of Liberal supporters
- 39 per cent of Conservative supporters
And more than twice as many Tory supporters said they think the migrants are “bogus: criminals or economic opportunists looking to jump the immigration queue for a better life.”
- 37 per cent of Conservative supporters
- 15 per cent of NDP supporters
- 14 per cent of Liberal supporters
Men were twice as likely than women to see the claims as bogus.
READ MORE: Here’s what the federal leaders had to say about the refugee crisis
Conservative voters were also more likely to think this is a European problem, not a global one: 42 per cent, compared to 26 per cent of NDP supporters and 23 per cent of Liberal supporters.
Tory supporters were also least likely to think Canada should take 10,000 or more refugees in the next year — 23 per cent compared with 49 per cent of Liberals and 46 per cent of NDP.
Overall, 70 per cent of those surveyed agreed that Canada has a role in remedying the crisis.
As for what measures the country should be expending to assists the refugees, 76 per cent of those surveyed said medical and military assistance in Europe was appropriate. Just over half (54 per cent) agreed Canada needs to take in more refugees. Twenty-three per cent said Canada should do nothing.
This poll was conducted September 3, with a sample of 1,447 Canadians from Angus Reid’s online forum and is accurate to within 2.6 percentage points 19 times out of 20.
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