TORONTO —
Canadians are increasingly concerned about contracting COVID-19, despite the steady decline in confirmed cases across Canada in recent weeks, according to a new survey.
The survey, conducted by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies between July 3 and 5, found that 58 per cent of Canadians are personally afraid of contracting COVID-19.
That percentage has been increasing in the past two weeks, according to Leger’s weekly surveys which show it has gone up by seven percentage points since June 22. Before then, the polling data shows Canadians’ concerns about personally contracting the disease had not been that high since April 20.
Canadians appeared to be most anxious about the virus in early April, when 64 per cent of respondents reported they were personally afraid of contracting COVID-19. Since that time, Canadians’ worries appeared to be dissipating as that percentage progressively dropped until it reached 51 per cent on May 25. It remained steady for several weeks until June 15, when it started creeping up again.
The cause for the recent uptick in coronavirus fears among Canadians may seem surprising given the steady decline in new COVID-19 cases in the country in recent weeks.
For example, Canada was reporting 1,154 new COVID-19 cases on April 6 – the peak time for Canadians’ fears about contracting the virus, according to CTV News tracking data from provincial government sources.
Compare that to June 15 – when Canadians’ fears began to climb again – and the number of new cases was only 330.
For Leger’s most recent survey period, between July 3 and 5, Canada was reporting an average number of 292 new cases per day, even though a rising 58 per cent of Canadians said they were afraid of getting the disease.
So why are Canadians’ fears about contracting coronavirus increasing when the number of new cases have been decreasing?
The answer, it seems, may lie south of the border.
U.S. SURGE IN CASES
While the Leger survey doesn’t draw any conclusions about what the collected data means, there is an apparent relationship between the growing fears about COVID-19 among Canadians and the rising number of new cases in the U.S.
For instance, on April 6, the peak time of Canadians’ anxieties according to the Leger survey, the U.S. was reporting 25,398 daily COVID-19 cases.
Nearly two months later, when Canadians were least afraid about contracting the disease – at the end of May to the beginning of June – the U.S. was reporting fewer daily cases of approximately 20,000 cases.
Fast-forward to the survey’s recent polling period of July 3 and 5, and the U.S. was reporting a dramatic increase in cases, averaging 51,000 cases per day.
Over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, for instance, the U.S. had more than 2.8 million confirmed cases – nearly a quarter of the 11 million infections worldwide – according to the tally by Johns Hopkins University.
News of the growing number of confirmed cases in the U.S. dominated international headlines through much of the weekend as Americans gathered for holiday celebrations.
And while the Leger survey doesn’t attempt to determine the source of Canadians’ increasing worries, there is some evidence to suggest they’re very much concerned about the situation in the States.
For example, a recent national survey by Destination Canada – a Crown corporation promoting tourism to Canada, found the majority of Canadians were against welcoming visitors from the U.S.
The online survey, which was conducted the week of June 23, found that respondents in Quebec were the most receptive to having American visitors at only 24 per cent with only 6 per cent of those from B.C. saying they would welcome them.
What’s more, Google Trends data reveals that Canadians are once again searching for terms such as “America, “covid” and “covid cases America,” after a lull since the end of March when searches for those words reached a peak.
As for the current plan to reopen the Canada-U.S. border at the end of July, Canadian respondents in the Leger survey appeared to be strongly against the idea with a total of 86 per cent saying they disagreed and 71 per cent of that total replying they “strongly disagreed.”
METHODOLOGY
This web survey was conducted from July 3 to July 5, 2020, with 1,517 Canadians and 1,006 Americans, 18 years of age or older, randomly recruited from Leger’s online panel.
Using data from the 2016 Census, the results were weighted by gender, age, mother tongue, region, education level and presence of children in the household in order to ensure a representative sample of the population.
For comparison, a probability sample of 1,517 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.52%, 19 times out of 20, while a probability sample of 1,006 would have a margin of error of +3.1%, 19 times out of 20.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
