Global terror worries Canadians more than domestic threats
“There’s sort of this distinctive feeling on the part of Canadians ... that the phenomenon is continually on the increase.
JACK JEDWAB EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ASSOCIATION FOR CANADIAN STUDIES
OTTAWA — Nearly eight in 10 Canadians remain concerned about terrorism in the world, but a lesser number — 55 per cent — worry about domestic threats, according to a new poll.
The poll, conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies, also showed that immigrants and non- immigrants in Canada are divided on the root causes of terrorism, and just as divided over how well the Harper government is doing to combat terrorist activities.
The numbers, however, haven’t changed much over the past 12 months and are based on polling done before Monday’s bombings in Boston.
“Really, there’s something about the concerns about terrorism that’s quite stable for the past year and that’s because there have been no big events that have modified people’s anxieties about terrorism,” said Jack Jedwab, executive director of the Association for Canadian Studies, based in Montreal.
But the polling figures suggest that even as the number of acts of terrorism worldwide has declined, anxiety about terrorism hasn’t seen an equal decline, Jedwab said.
“There’s sort of this distinctive feeling on the part of Canadians ... that the phenomenon is continually on the increase even if there’s no substantial evidence to support that,” he said.
Worries about terrorist attacks at home were less of a concern than worries about threats abroad, according to the poll. About 81 per cent were worried about global terrorism — including 33 per cent who were very worried — while 36 per cent of respondents were not too worried and nine per cent were not concerned at all.
Domestic efforts to combat terrorism were given mixed votes of confidence.
Of respondents who were born in Canada, 38 per cent believed the federal government was doing well in combating terrorism at home, while almost 44 per cent of respondents born outside the country felt the same way. Just over one- third of respondents from each category disagreed that the governments efforts were working well, and about 22 per cent didn’t answer.
Thirty per cent of respondents born outside Canada and about 32 per cent of respondents born in Canada felt international efforts to combat terrorism were working well. However, 51.8 per cent of respondents born in Canada and 56.8 per cent born outside Canada disagreed.
“It basically shows there aren’t substantial differences in how immigrants and nonimmigrants see these issues,” Jedwab said.
About 71 per cent of respondents born outside of Canada were slightly more willing to increase camera surveillance on streets and in public places to combat terrorism than those born inside Canada ( 65.1 per cent).
The poll of 2,002 Canadians through an online panel in March was conducted by Leger Marketing and has a margin of error of 2.9 per cent, 19 times out of 20.