A new poll conducted by Research Co. has found that the majority of Canadians support reinstating the death penalty for murder.
According to the survey, 54 per cent of Canadians support relying on capital punishment on murder conviction, up three points since a similar survey conducted by the group in February 2022.
Research Co.’s data shows that Albertans are more likely in favor of the death penalty with the highest percentage of 62 per cent.
Support for capital punishment in Saskatchewan and Manitoba are also high at 60 per cent while 58 per cent of Ontario and B.C. residents feel the same way. Over half (55 per cent) of Atlantic Canada and 43 per cent of Quebec residents said they welcome the return of the death penalty.
“Almost three-in-five Canadians aged 55 and over (59 per cent, up four points) would welcome the return of the death penalty,” Research Co. President Mario Canseco said in a news release. “The numbers are slightly lower among those aged 35-to-54 (54 per cent, up three points) and those aged 18-to-34 (50 per cent, up three points).”
Conservative Party voters are most likely to welcome the punishment with 71 per cent support (up eight points) while the support is lower (49 per cent, down three points) among those who voted for the NDP in 2021 and the Liberal Party (48 per cent, down one point).
When it comes to the type of punishment, 53 per cent (up one point) said they prefer murderers should be sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole while 37 per cent would prefer the death penalty.
Fewer Canadians (25 per cent) stated the death penalty is “never” appropriate and fewer than that (9 per cent, down two points) deem it “always” appropriate.
However, the majority of Canadians (58 per cent) believe that the death penalty is “sometimes” appropriate, which is up four points from last year.
According to the data, 66 per cent of Canadians, who oppose the return of the death penalty, worried about the possibility of a person being wrongly convicted and executed.
The report said 42 per cent think that it is wrong to take a convicted murderer’s own life while 41 per cent in favor to do their time in prison as indicated by a judge.
In addition, most supporters of the death penalty, (57 per cent) believe it will serve as a deterrent for potential murders while 55 per cent say it fits the crime because a convicted murderer has taken a life.
Almost more than half of respondents (51 per cent) believe that the death penalty will save taxpayers money compared to the costs associated with keeping a person behind bars.
Likewise, 46 per cent of supporters of capital punishment think it would provide closure to the families of murder victims while 30 per cent believe murderers cannot be rehabilitated.
The death penalty in Canada was abolished in 1976, but even before that, federal governments had regularly commuted death sentences to life imprisonment. The last executions in Canada took place in 1962.
METHODOLOGY
The results are based on an online survey conducted from March 10 to March 12, 2023, among 1,000 Canadian adults. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The results are considered accurate within +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Reporting for this story was paid for through The Afghan Journalists in Residence Project funded by Meta.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
