Survey finds one quarter believe pandemic health warnings are exaggerated

Photo: The Canadian Press

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives for Liberal cabinet retreat in Ottawa, Monday.

A new survey suggests there are Canadians who believe that warnings from public officials about the threat of COVID-19 are vastly overblown.

Almost one-quarter of respondents in an online poll made public today by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies say they believe public health and government officials exaggerate in their warnings, including about the need for measures like physical distancing to slow the spread of the pandemic.

Regionally, respondents in Alberta were more likely to believe the threat was embellished, followed by Atlantic Canada and Quebec, with Ontario at the bottom.

Broken down by age, younger respondents were more likely than those over 55 to believe statements were being exaggerated.

The online poll was conducted Sept. 11 to 13 and surveyed 1,539 adult Canadians. It cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered random samples.

Leger executive vice-president Christian Bourque says the results may explain something else that came up in the survey — that a majority of respondents said they have relaxed how strictly they adhere to public health recommendations.

Among those recommendations are things such as wearing a mask in public, avoiding large gatherings and trying to maintain a two-metre distance between people.