Canada’s young people find COVID-19 restrictions “too much” with a 43 per cent response, according to a new Ipsos poll.
Forty three per cent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 said the response to the highly transmissible Omicron variant is “too much.” Another, 31 per cent said they are “too little” and 35 per cent for “about right.”
Of those aged 55 and above, on the other hand, 21 per cent said the lockdowns are for “too much.”
Sean Simpson, senior vice-president for Ipsos Public Affairs, suggests that COVID the belief whether COVID presents a significant risk to your health is driven by age.
“That understanding of the risk, the relative level of risk, is driving all of the other attitudes here,” he said.
“So, if you are more likely to believe that COVID-19 is riskier, you are more likely to support lockdowns, you are more likely to support mandatory vaccinations.”
Simpson suggests that the poll indicates a disproportionate response for “too much” is likely because of the increased vulnerability of negative implications for older groups from COVID-19.
“Younger people are less likely to support lockdown, vaccinations or any kind of intervention because it is not as risky to them,” said Simpson.
This survey was done on behalf of Global News between Jan. 14 and 17, 2022, and included a sample of 1,001 Canadians aged over 18 years old. The results are considered accurate within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.