TORONTO — A new survey from Angus Reid Institute has found that the majority of Canadians support ******** testing for travellers from China, but few actually believe the policy will help reduce ********** in Canada.

In response to surging cases in China, which recently abandoned its ******** zero strategy, Canada, alongside other countries, enforced a new ******** testing requirement on Jan. 5, 2023 for travellers from China, prior to takeoff. 

According to data from Angus Reid, 77% of Canadians support the new policy, outnumbering those who are opposed (16%) by nearly five-to-one.

However, those who believe the policy will be effective at reducing ******** ********** in Canada (34%) are in the minority. More Canadians believe it will be ineffective (38%) or are unsure (28%). And even among those who support the policy, fewer than half (44%) say they believe it will be effective at preventing the spread of ********.

Nearly all (94%) of those who oppose the ******** testing policy for travellers from China believe it won’t be effective at reducing the spread of the ***** in Canada. 

The Chinese government have called the policy “discriminatory,” while others have gone further and called it “******.” As a result of the ********, there has been a rise in ************** and ****** experienced by Canadians of Chinese descent, with some worrying this new testing policy will fuel further hatred.

One in eight (13%) Canadians call the policy ******, while 73% believe it’s not. Canadians who identify as visible minorities are twice as likely to label the policy ****** (23%) than those who don’t identify as such (10%). 

In terms of how ******** is still impacting outbound travel trends, one-in-five (19%) Canadians say they are not travelling at all because they are worried about the *****. A further 33% say they have approached their recent travel with caution, while two-in-five (41%) are less worried about the risk of ******** while travelling.

Two-in-five (37%) of those who have not travelled at all outside of their province since March 2022 say they are not travelling because they worry about catching ********.

To read the full survey’s full findings, click here.