Poll suggests support for Bill 21 provision may have dropped in Quebec; 55% in favour
A new poll suggests support may have slipped for a key element of Quebec's secularism law, known as Bill 21.
A web panel survey carried out by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies earlier this month found 55 per cent of Quebecers are in favour of banning religious symbols being worn by public school teachers.
That appears to be a drop from the results of a previous Leger survey published in September that found 64 per cent of Quebecers were in favour of Bill 21, which applies to civil servants in positions of authority including judges, teachers, and police officers.
Jack Jedwab, the president of the Association for Canadian Studies, says the seeming shift in public opinion could be tied to recent debate on the issue, including the case of an elementary school teacher in western Quebec who was removed from her teaching position in December because her hijab contravenes the law.
The incident prompted calls for the federal government to intervene in court challenges against the law and spurred the mayors of several large cities to pledge their support to the legal battle to overturn it.
The survey was conducted by web panel between January 7 and 9, involving 1,547 Canadians 18 years of age or older.
The polling industry's professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.
Debate over Bill 21 was ignited in December after Grade 3 teacher Fatemeh Anvari was reassigned from teaching duties at her Chelsea, Que., school because she wore a hijab.
In an interview, Jedwab said he believed the incident demonstrated the real impacts of a law that had previously felt mostly symbolic.
"When we saw someone wearing a hijab being removed from the classroom, I think my sense is that that's contributed to this drop in support," he said.
Premier Francois Legault has repeatedly cited strong public support for Bill 21 as a warning to any leaders outside Quebec who challenge it. Jedwab said the survey results suggest that consensus could be eroding, although he said it was too soon to know if the dip in support was a temporary response to Anvari losing her teaching job.
The poll suggested that support for Bill 21 is divided along linguistic and generational lines.
While 59 per cent of French speakers in the survey said they either "strongly" or "somewhat" support banning visible religious symbols worn by teachers, only 26 per cent of English speakers felt the same.
Amongst Quebecers, 73.9 per cent of people aged 65 to 74 said they supported the ban -- the highest of any age group -- while only 27.8 of 18-to-24-year-olds said they did.
Across Canada, the average was 33 per cent in favour of the ban, 55 per cent against and 12 per cent undecided.
Across Canada, including in Quebec, a majority of survey respondents said they felt it was important for the Supreme Court of Canada to issue an opinion on whether Bill 21 discriminates against religious groups.
Opinion was more divided on whether the federal government should intervene in any eventual Supreme Court challenge of the law.
A total of 39 per cent of respondents were in favour of federal intervention compared to 29 per cent against. That support was strongest in Ontario but lower in several other provinces including Quebec, where 42 per cent felt the government should not intervene and 37 per cent said it should.
Support was even more mixed when it came to the involvement of big city mayors outside Quebec. The greatest number of respondents, by a 34 per cent to 29 per cent margin, felt the mayors should not support opponents of the bill. That sentiment was strongest in Quebec, while respondents in Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta voted narrowly in favour of mayoral action.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 16, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
On federal budget, Macklem says 'fiscal track has not changed significantly'
Bank of Canada governor Tiff Macklem says Canada's fiscal position has 'not changed significantly' following the release of the federal government's budget.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.