The majority of Canadians support government efforts to help Rohingya refugees fleeing violence and persecution in Myanmar, but the country is divided over how to handle asylum seekers illegally entering from the United States, a new Nanos Research survey conducted for 麻豆影视 suggests.
When asked how welcoming the Canadian government should be to asylum seekers crossing into the country from the U.S., almost half of respondents, or 43 per cent, said 鈥渓ess welcoming.鈥�
That response was followed by 鈥渃ontinue its current approach鈥� at 36 per cent, 鈥渕ore welcoming鈥� at 14 per cent and 鈥渦nsure鈥� at six per cent.
Nearly half of male respondents and those living in the Prairies also answered 鈥渓ess welcoming鈥� while female respondents, those aged 18 to 34, and residents of Quebec were the most supportive of asylum seekers.
More than 30,000 asylum seekers have been intercepted by the RCMP along the Canada-U.S. border since Jan. 2017, according to . The vast majority of those people, or 93 per cent, entered through Quebec.
When asked about Canadian law enforcement presence along the border to deal with such illicit crossings, the majority of survey respondents, or 57 per cent, said there is 鈥渢oo little presence.鈥�
Just under one third of respondents, or 29 per cent, answered 鈥渞ight amount of presence鈥� while 12 per cent were 鈥渦nsure鈥� and two per cent replied there is 鈥渢oo much鈥� law enforcement presence along the world鈥檚 longest undefended border.
Male respondents in the Prairies aged 35 to 54 were most likely, at over 60 per cent, to state that there is not enough law enforcement presence to deal with 鈥渋rregular鈥� crossings.
In addition to boosting RCMP presence between official border crossings, in recent months the Canadian government has also and relocated border security officers to deal with the unprecedented influx of asylum seekers into the country.
ROHINGYA REFUGEES
More than six in 10 Canadians support accepting Rohingya refugees to Canada, much as the country has welcomed Syrian refugees, according to the survey, with 37 per cent answering 鈥渟upport鈥� and 25 per cent answering 鈥渟omewhat support.鈥�
Fourteen per cent answered 鈥渟omewhat oppose鈥� while 18 per cent answered 鈥渙ppose.鈥� Only six per cent of respondents were unsure.
The highest level of support came from female respondents and those in Quebec, while male respondents and those in the Prairies were the least supportive of accepting Rohingya refugees.
In , Bob Rae, Canada鈥檚 special envoy to Myanmar, stated that 鈥淐anada should signal a willingness to welcome refugees from the Rohingya community in both Bangladesh and Myanmar.鈥�
Nearly seven out of ten Canadians are supportive of the federal government providing aid money to Rohingya refugees.
When asked about their level of support for the Canadian government spending $150 million in international aid money to assist Rohingya refugees, 42 per cent responded 鈥渟upport,鈥� 27 said 鈥渟omewhat support鈥� while 14 per cent each said 鈥渙ppose鈥� or 鈥渟omewhat oppose.鈥� Four per cent said they were 鈥渦nsure.鈥�
In May, the Canadian government announced that it was earmarking $300 million over the next three years (/politics/canada-pledges-300m-to-rohingya-crisis-but-stops-short-on-resettlement-1.3941924) to respond to the ongoing humanitarian crisis facing the Rohingya in Myanmar and Bangladesh. In his report, however, Rae recommended that Canada contribute double that number over a four year period.
METHODOLOGY
The survey was conducted between May 30 and June 3, using an RDD dual frame (landline and cellphone) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,000 adult Canadians. The margin of error was ±3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
