A NEW POLL FINDS THAT A MAJORITY OF CANADIANS BELIEVE THE COUNTRY NEEDS TO DO `EVERYTHING IT CAN' TO RELOCATE AFGHANS WHO HELPED CANADA DURING THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN.

Most Canadians want rescue for helpers: poll

Nearly seven in 10 Canadians believe Canada needs to do “everything it can” to relocate Afghans who helped Canada during the war in Afghanistan, according to a new Postmedia-Leger poll.

The poll, released as the federal election campaign enters its second week, shows that a majority of Canadians are paying attention to what's happening in Afghanistan, which has fallen to the Taliban in a stunning military push, as the final American troops prepare to leave the country.

“The unfolding Afghanistan story has caught the attention of Canadians,” said Andrew Enns, executive vice-president of Leger. “That pretty much covers the gamut in terms of main party supporters ... I don't think it was an issue or story that any of the parties had as part of their first-week talking points or suite of announcements.

“It's sort of inserted itself into the campaign and parties had to respond to it.”

Media coverage in recent weeks has highlighted disastrous on-the-ground scenarios, where desperate Afghans have been trying to flee the Taliban advance.

On the hustings, Justin Trudeau, the Liberal leader and prime minister, has been asked repeatedly about the situation in Kabul, the capital, where Canada and other nations are running their evacuation operations.

“We want to save as many people as possible,” Trudeau said Tuesday morning.

The poll says 65 per cent of Canadians are “following closely” the situation in Afghanistan, compared to 32 per cent who are “not following closely.” The percentage of those following closely is highest in Manitoba and Saskatchewan (69 per cent) and lowest in Atlantic Canada (58 per cent).

Broken down by age, those 55 or older are following most closely, at 76 per cent, compared to 58 per cent of those between 35 and 44, and 60 per cent of those aged 18 to 34.

There's only a slight partisan divide: Sixty-six per cent of New Democrat voters are following closely, compared to 71 per cent of Liberal voters and 73 per cent of Conservative voters.

While a firm majority believes Canada should do all it can to help Afghans escape, only 54 per cent of Canadians believe the government “should have acted quicker” to assist them. Twenty per cent believe they should not have acted quicker.

Among partisans, 50 per cent of Liberals say the government should've acted quicker, compared to 63 per cent of New Democrats and 59 per cent of Conservatives.

Enns said the higher percentage of New Democrats who are concerned about speed could be a vulnerability for the Liberals among progressive voters.

“If the Liberals are hoping at some point to start to attract some NDP voters to their way of thinking and ultimately to voting for them on Sept. 20, this is not the kind of issue that you want to see continue to be in the news for very long,” said Enns.

Erin O'Toole, the Conservative leader, has accused the Liberals of being unprepared for the unfolding disaster.

“Anybody that is at risk from the Taliban, because they were supporting our efforts there, we need to get them back, and Mr. Trudeau has squandered six years and the last six months when we knew the pullout was coming,” O'Toole said recently.

The Liberals in late July announced a special visa program to help those who had helped the Canadian military — many of them interpreters — flee to Canada.

Then, on Aug. 13, a Friday evening, the government announced a program promising to take in 20,000 refugees from Afghanistan.

Fifty-three per cent of poll respondents say this is a good decision, compared to 25 per cent who disagree and 22 per cent who are unsure. Support for this is lowest in Ontario and Manitoba and Saskatchewan, at 52 per cent, and highest in Atlantic Canada, at 59 per cent.

Among partisans, 69 per cent of Liberal voters believe this program is good, compared to 67 per cent of New Democrats and just 42 per cent of Conservative voters.

Those between the ages of 35 and 54 were least likely to say Canada should do whatever it could to help Afghans get out, at just 59 per cent, and it was highest among those aged 55 or older. Support, geographically, was highest in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, at 74 per cent, and lowest in Atlantic Canada at 66 per cent and Quebec at 67 per cent.

The polling included 2,002 responses to an online survey between Aug. 20 and 22 and the results were weighted using gender, age and regional data from the 2016 census. No margin of error can be attributed to a non-probability internet survey.

ONLY 54 PER CENT OF CANADIANS BELIEVE THE GOVERNMENT `SHOULD HAVE ACTED QUICKER.'