A new poll says public opinion on the political response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada is deeply divided, with those polled split evenly on the question of how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has handled the emergency.
The poll, conducted by the Angus Reid Institute in partnership with CBC, found that 48 per cent of Canadians say Trudeau has done a “good” or “very good” job during the pandemic so far.
Another 48 per cent said Trudeau has done a “bad” or “very bad” job.
Shachi Kurl, president of the Angus Reid Institute, said the findings appear to confirm what many Canadians have already learned about the political divide exposed by the pandemic.
“Sometimes it’s a confirmation of a trend … it just tells us where we are as a country,” she told CBC News.
Among those who said Trudeau has performed poorly, 31 per cent said he’s handled the pandemic very badly — twice the number of respondents who said he’s done a very good job.
Four per cent of respondents said they didn’t or couldn’t say how well Trudeau has performed.
The responses were collected through an online survey conducted from March 1 to 4 on a representative randomized sample of 2,550 Canadians 18 and older who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Fifty-six per cent of respondents said Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam has done a good job during the pandemic, while 34 per cent said she has done poorly.
Opinions about Trudeau’s performance were most sharply divided on party lines, with Conservative voters voicing overwhelming dissatisfaction and Liberal supporters offering overwhelmingly positive impressions.
Among Conservatives, 84 per cent said Trudeau has done a bad or very bad job, while 88 per cent of Liberals said the prime minister has done a good or very good job.
Among NDP voters, 67 per cent said Trudeau has done well. Bloc Québécois supporters offered a more negative assessment — 62 per cent of them said Trudeau has done badly.
Trudeau’s performance was rated most negatively in Alberta and Saskatchewan, where 45 per cent of respondents said he has done a “very bad job.” Canadians in the Atlantic provinces and British Columbia were most satisfied with Trudeau’s performance.
Trudeau and the Liberal government have implemented numerous measures meant to slow the pandemic over the past two years, including the closure of international borders and the enforcement of vaccine mandates for some travellers and federal workers. The federal government was also responsible for procuring vaccines.
Provincial governments and premiers were responsible for most of the restrictions introduced during the pandemic, including the closure of schools and businesses, the enforcement of indoor gathering limits and vaccine mandates, and the distribution of vaccines.
Atlantic Canadians were the most satisfied with their premiers, with seven out of 10 saying their premiers have done well during the pandemic.
The Atlantic provinces have experienced consistently lower case numbers than anywhere else in Canada, something attributed to precautions implemented in that region — including the Atlantic Bubble, which restricted interprovincial travel.
Outside of the Atlantic provinces, B.C. has recorded the fewest number of cases and deaths per 100,000 residents in Canada. Six out of 10 B.C. residents said they were satisfied with Premier John Horgan.
Manitoba and Alberta residents were the least satisfied with their premiers.
Nearly eight out of 10 in Manitobans said Premiers Brian Pallister and Heather Stefanson have done badly.
Seven out of 10 Albertans gave Premier Jason Kenney a failing grade. Kurl said in an interview that Kenney consistently angered “a really significant constituency of Albertans” by repeatedly adjusting his approach to the pandemic.
“For Kenney in particular, what we saw is he had almost the reverse Midas touch,” Kurl said of the results. “Almost every other premier struck a little bit of grace or found a little bit of extra understanding.”
Respondents in Ontario and Quebec were more evenly divided, with a slim majority of Ontarians saying Premier Doug Ford has done a bad job and a majority of Quebecers (57 per cent) saying Premier François Legault has done well.
PORT ALBERNI, B.C. – RCMP say the body of a second person has been found inside their vehicle after a road washed away amid pouring rain on the west coast of Vancouver Island.
Police say two vehicles went into the Sarita River when Bamfield Road washed out on Saturday as an atmospheric river hammered southern B.C.
The body of the other driver was found Sunday.
More coming.
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The B.C. Greens say Sonia Furstenau will be staying on as party leader, despite losing her seat in the legislature in Saturday’s provincial election.
The party says in a statement that its two newly elected MLAs, Jeremy Valeriote and Rob Botterell, support Furstenau’s leadership as they “navigate the prospect of having the balance of power in the legislature.”
Neither the NDP led by Premier David Eby nor the B.C. Conservatives led by John Rustad secured a majority in the election, with two recounts set to take place from Oct. 26 to 28.
Eby says in a news conference that while the election outcome is uncertain, it’s “very likely” that the NDP would need the support of others to pass legislation.
He says he reached out to Furstenau on election night to congratulate her on the Greens’ showing.
But he says the Green party has told the NDP they are “not ready yet” for a conversation about a minority government deal.
The Conservatives went from taking less than two per cent of the vote in 2020 to being elected or leading in 45 ridings, two short of a majority and only one behind the NDP.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 22, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio is making a difference, 4,175 kilometres away from home.
The 32-year-old Canadian international midfielder, whose parents hail from Colombia, has been working with the Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization, a charity whose goal is to help disadvantaged youth in the South American country.
Osorio has worked behind the scenes, with no fanfare.
Until now, with his benevolence resulting in becoming Toronto FC’s nominee for the Audi Goals Drive Progress Impact Award, which honours an MLS player “who showed outstanding dedication to charitable efforts and serving the community” during the 2024 season.”
Other nominees include Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.
The winner will be announced in late November.
The Canadian Colombian Children’s Organization (CCCO) is run entirely by volunteers like Monica Figueredo and Claudia Soler. Founded in 1991, it received charitable status in 2005.
The charity currently has four projects on the go: two in Medellin and one each in Armenia and Barranquilla.
They include a school, a home for young girls whose parents are addicted to drugs, after-school and weekend programs for children in a disadvantaged neighbourhood, and nutrition and education help for underprivileged youth.
The organization heard about Osorio and was put in contact with him via an intermediary, which led to a lunch meeting. Osorio did his due diligence and soon got back to the charity with his decision.
“It was something that I wanted to be a part of right away,” said Osorio, whose lone regret is that he didn’t get involved sooner.
“I’m fortunate now that to help more now that I could have back then,” he added. “The timing actually worked out for everybody. For the last three years I have donated to their cause and we’ve built a couple of (football) fields in different cities over there in the schools.”
His father visited one of the sites in Armenia close to his hometown.
“He said it was amazing, the kids, how grateful they are to be able to play on any pitch, really,” said Osorio. “But to be playing on a new pitch, they’re just so grateful and so humble.
“It really makes it worth it being part of this organization.”
The collaboration has also made Osorio take stock.
“We’re very fortunate here in Canada, I think, for the most part. Kids get to go to school and have a roof over their head and things like that. In Colombia, it’s not really the same case. My father and his family grew up in tough conditions, so giving back is like giving back to my father.”
Osorio’s help has been a godsend to the charity.
“We were so surprised with how willing he was,” said Soler.
The TFC skipper has helped pay for a football field in Armenia as well as an ambitious sports complex under construction in Barranquilla.
“It’s been great for them,” Figueredo said of the pitch in Armenia. “Because when they go to school, now they have a proper place to train.”
Osorio has also sent videos encouraging the kids to stay active — as well as shipping soccer balls and signed jerseys their way.
“They know more about Jonathan than the other players in Colombia,” Figueredo said. “That’s the funny part. Even though he’s far away, they’ve connected with him.”
“They feel that they have a future, that they can do more,” she added. “Seeing that was really, really great.”
The kids also followed Osorio through the 2022 World Cup and this summer’s Copa America.
Back home, Osorio has also attended the charity’s annual golf tournament, helping raise funds.
A Toronto native, he has long donated four tickets for every TFC home game to the Hospital for Sick Children.
Vancouver’s Berhalter was nominated for his involvement in the Whitecaps’ partnership with B.C. Children’s Hospital while Montreal’s Sirois was chosen for his work with the Montreal Impact Foundation.
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2024.
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