(LifeSiteNews) – A new poll indicated two-thirds of Canadians say it’s time to drop COVID restrictions and that it’s time people learn to just “live” with the virus.
The poll, titled “Relaxing restrictions,” was conducted by Maru Public Opinion for the news outlet Postmedia, surveying 1,523 Canadians on February 9-10. It was released to the public today.
According to the poll’s findings, “all things considered, unless their local hospitals/ICUs are affected by a sudden surge that compromises the care for people,” 64 percent of Canadians say “it’s time to drop the restrictions imposed on Canadians because of COVID.”
The province with the highest percentage of respondents wanting all COVID measures gone was Quebec at 71 percent, followed by Alberta and Ontario at 65 percent.
Not all provinces, however, agree it’s time to end all COVID measures.
In British Columbia, 48 percent want COVID measures gone. Only 41 percent of Manitoba and Saskatchewan residents want the measures dropped, with Atlantic Canada at 39 percent wanting virus rules eliminated.
Overall, without the condition of overrun hospitals, the poll found that 63 of Canadians say “it’s time to stop restrictions and start living.”
The poll also found that most Canadians (56 percent) say it’s time to stop “pressuring those who refuse to get vaccinated.”
The poll concluded that “if they haven’t by now, they won’t, and all its doing is creating backlash that is worse than living with them in our communities.”
The poll also found that a “significant minority,” or 45 percent of Canadians, think “it’s time for the chief medical officers and health officials to stand back and be less involved in deciding what’s best for ‘our society.’”
According to Maru Public Opinion, women are more likely than men to want to keep COVID rules in place, along with those over 55, people with incomes over $100,000, and those who have university degrees.
The poll was conducted during the same time thousands of truckers from across Canada descended upon Ottawa to protest all COVID mandates.
The Maru Public Opinion poll follows an Angus Reid poll released two weeks ago that found 54 percent of Canadians say it’s time to “remove restrictions and let Canadians manage their own level of risk.”
Since the Freedom Convoy arrived in Ottawa nearly three weeks ago, no less than four provinces, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and now Ontario have already or will be soon dropping most COVID rules.
However, at the federal level, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has refused to end COVID rules banning the un-jabbed from air, sea, or train travel. He also has not ended a mandate that all truckers entering Canada be jabbed.
Indeed, just yesterday, Trudeau took the unprecedented step of enacting the Emergencies Act, which he claimed was needed to deal with the truckers. Trudeau’s new powers allow the government to freeze anyone’s bank accounts associated with the convoy without a court order.