Majority of Ontarians support return to masks

| Filed under: Ontario
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Majority of Ontarians support return to masks

Seven out of ten willing to comply with an Ontario mask mandate

Toronto, Nov 11th, 2022 – In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll among 1007 Ontario residents, 53% agree that Ontario should bring back its mask mandate and 72% agree that they would follow a renewed provincial mask mandate.

While 19% say they will never wear masks again and 4% are unsure, 77% already wear masks or would be willing to wear them again. A worse Covid situation would motivate 25% to wear masks again, while 24% said they would do so in response to a mask mandate. Willingness to follow a mask mandate is highest in the city of Toronto (79%) and lowest in Northern Ontario (60%).

“We are seeing significant public support for a mask mandate,” said Dr. Lorne Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. “It’s likely that Ontarians are concerned about increasing Covid risks in coming months.”

Support for a mask mandate differs strongly by political preference. Among those who would vote Progressive Conservative if a provincial election were held today, 56% would follow a renewed mask mandate in Ontario, compared to 87% of those who would vote Liberal or NDP, 72% of those who would vote Green, 32% of those who would vote for other parties and 75% of undecideds.

At the federal level, 47% of those who would vote Conservative agreed that they would follow a mask mandate in Ontario, compared to 87-88% of those who would vote Liberal or NDP, 68% of those who would vote Green, 49% of those who would vote for other parties, and 85% of undecideds.

The poll was conducted by Forum Research with the results based on an interactive voice response telephone survey of 1007 randomly selected Ontario residents over the age of 18. The poll was conducted on November 8th, 2022. Results based on the total sample are considered accurate +/- 3%, 19 times out of 20. Subsample and regional results will be less accurate. Margins of error for subsample and regional results are available at www.forumresearch.com/samplestim.asp

This research is not necessarily predictive of future outcomes, but rather captures opinion at one point in time. The poll was conducted for the Toronto Star by Forum Research Inc. With offices across Canada and around the world, 100% Canadian owned Forum Research is one of the country’s leading survey research firms.

Forum Research follows the CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements that can be found here: https://canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/standards/