REGINA —
A new survey suggests more Canadians are becoming divided, with some saying issues have led them to reduce contact with friends or family.
The national phone survey by the Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research at the University of Saskatchewan was done between March 7 and March 24. It asked 1,011 people about the issues that divide them the most.
About three out of every four respondents said they believe society has become more polarized.
The majority said the COVID-19 pandemic (72 per cent) and the 2021 federal election (73 per cent) were the two most divisive issues over the past year.
About 40 per cent of those surveyed said they have reduced contact with friends or family over an argument about the pandemic or politics.
“There’s been so much amplified rhetoric in the last two years since the beginning of the pandemic, and a lot of the rhetoric has really served to divide folks — whether that division is actually real or it’s just perceived,” research director Jason Disano told The Canadian Press in a phone interview from Saskatoon.
Disano said the respondents’ answers seems to be influenced by their political lean.
For example, in the Prairie provinces, respondents answered in ways that align with conservative policies, Disano said.
The survey suggested people on the Prairies were more likely than in any other region to believe that the issues of fighting climate change and banning assault weapons were dividing Canadians. In Central Canada, however, respondents didn’t think a ban on weapons was a divisive topic.
“We see a lot of identity politics that’s taking hold in Canada, that has been taking hold in the U.S., particularly in the last five to six years,” Disano said. “And we’re seeing sort of that carryover to Canada. And it’s a problem.”
Respondents in Quebec were more likely than those in other regions to believe society has become less polarized. Disano attributed that result to more moderate or liberal views.
Quebec residents who participated in the survey also said they were less likely than people in Western Canada, including British Columbia, to have reduced contact with a friend or family member because of differing views.
“We do see these regional differences, which to a large extent are informed by the political leanings of the residents of those various regions,” Disano said.
“Unfortunately, what we’re seeing is politicians that are using that division for political benefit when those leaders should be seeking to unite us and not divide us.”
When it comes to uniting Canadians, the respondents said provisions of international aid (55 per cent) and increasing ethnic diversity (53 per cent) were issues that brought them together.
The survey was reliable to within plus or minus three per cent, with a 95 per cent confidence level.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2022.
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says the NDP is caving to political pressure from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre when it comes to their stance on the consumer carbon price.
Trudeau says he believes Jagmeet Singh and the NDP care about the environment, but it’s “increasingly obvious” that they have “no idea” what to do about climate change.
On Thursday, Singh said the NDP is working on a plan that wouldn’t put the burden of fighting climate change on the backs of workers, but wouldn’t say if that plan would include a consumer carbon price.
Singh’s noncommittal position comes as the NDP tries to frame itself as a credible alternative to the Conservatives in the next federal election.
Poilievre responded to that by releasing a video, pointing out that the NDP has voted time and again in favour of the Liberals’ carbon price.
British Columbia Premier David Eby also changed his tune on Thursday, promising that a re-elected NDP government would scrap the long-standing carbon tax and shift the burden to “big polluters,” if the federal government dropped its requirements.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Simon Jolin-Barrette, minister responsible for consumer protection, has tabled a bill to force merchants to calculate tips based on the price before tax.
That means on a restaurant bill of $100, suggested tips would be calculated based on $100, not on $114.98 after provincial and federal sales taxes are added.
The bill would also increase the rebate offered to consumers when the price of an item at the cash register is higher than the shelf price, to $15 from $10.
And it would force grocery stores offering a discounted price for several items to clearly list the unit price as well.
Businesses would also have to indicate whether taxes will be added to the price of food products.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
Quebec legislature member Youri Chassin has announced he’s leaving the Coalition Avenir Québec government to sit as an Independent.
He announced the decision shortly after writing an open letter criticizing Premier François Legault’s government for abandoning its principles of smaller government.
In the letter published in Le Journal de Montréal and Le Journal de Québec, Chassin accused the party of falling back on what he called the old formula of throwing money at problems instead of looking to do things differently.
Chassin says public services are more fragile than ever, despite rising spending that pushed the province to a record $11-billion deficit projected in the last budget.
He is the second CAQ member to leave the party in a little more than one week, after economy and energy minister Pierre Fitzgibbon announced Sept. 4 he would leave because he lost motivation to do his job.
Chassin says he has no intention of joining another party and will instead sit as an Independent until the end of his term.
He has represented the Saint-Jérôme riding since the CAQ rose to power in 2018, but has not served in cabinet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
