Less support for veil ban outside of Quebec

The vast majority of Quebecers support Bill 62, the Quebec government’s ban on wearing face coverings while dispensing or receiving government services, but that support drops to about 40 per cent elsewhere in Canada, an AngusReid Institute poll suggests.

While Bill 62 targets face coverings of any kind when dealing with public services, critics have charged it targets Muslim women who wear the niqab, a face veil considered an expression of religious devotion.

The survey question focused on the niqab itself, and nationwide, 40 per cent of respondents replied the veil should be prohibited in government offices. However, support among remaining respondents was mitigated, with 31 per cent saying wearing the veil should be “discouraged but tolerated” and only 28 per cent replying the veils should be “welcome.”

The same question applied to Quebec respondents found 70 per cent in favour of the face veil ban, 23 per cent calling for the veil to be discouraged but tolerated and only eight per cent saying it should be welcome.

The perception of the face covering ban varied from one region to another outside Quebec. Complete prohibition at government facilities received the most support in Alberta (46 per cent) and Saskatchewan (52 per cent).

The poll results were compiled from a pair of online surveys conducted by the Angus Reid Institute, one from Oct. 16-23 and one from O ct. 25-26, 2017, among representative randomized samples of 1,971 and 1,511 Canadian adults, respectively.