Opinion Research Scan E-newsletter – October 2011

Association for Canadian Studies: Western and Muslim societies locked in an ‘irreconcilable conflict’

Background: This study, commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies and conducted by Leger Marketing, was designed to assess Canadians’ attitudes surrounding terrorism ten years after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The study was conducted via web panel between September 6th and 8th, 2011, amongst 1500 Canadians. A similar phone survey would have margin of error of 2.9 points, 19 times out 20. More information on this study can be found here.

Key Findings:

• Less than one quarter (24%) of Canadians feel that “After a decade, the world is safer from the threat of terrorism.”
  • Those most likely to agree are between the ages of 35-44 (27%), and those least likely to agree are 65 or over (19%). Men are more likely to agree with this statement than women (27% compared to 20%, respectively).
• Less than half (42%) of Canadians agree that “to fight terrorism, it is necessary for the average person to give up some civil liberties”.
  • Canadians aged 18-34 are less likely to agree with this statement than those 65 and over (31% compared to 52%).
• The majority (56%) of Canadians agree that “there is an irreconcilable conflict between Western societies and Muslim societies”.
  • 60% of men agree with this statement, compared to 53% of women.
  • Canadians aged 25 to 34 are less likely to agree than other age groups (see chart below).

“There is an irreconcilable conflict between Western societies and Muslim societies”: Agreement by age group

Canadians torn on benefits of religion: Ipsos Reid

Background: This Ipsos Reid survey was conducted from September 2nd to 7th, 2011. For this survey, a national sample of 1,129 adults from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. For more information, contact the Consultations and Public Opinion Research Unit.

Key Findings:

• Nearly half (47%) of Canadians agree (17% strongly, 29% somewhat) that religion does more harm than good, while the other half (53%) disagrees (25% strongly/29% somewhat).
  • Men (52%) are significantly more likely than women (42%) to agree with this sentiment.
• The majority (64%) of Canadians, overall, believe that ‘religion actually provides more questions than answers and that it doesn’t help to explain what’s going on in the world and in their own life’.
• Most Canadians (71%) disagree that ‘religious people are better citizens’, while just three in ten (29%) agree.
• 89% of Canadians agree that they are ‘completely comfortable being around people who have different religious beliefs’.

Canadians concerned about terrorist attacks and tolerance of Canadian society, according to Ipsos Reid

Background: These two polls were conducted by Ipsos Reid from August 26th to 30th, 2011, using the firm’s online panel. A total of 1012 Canadian adults were surveyed for each poll. For more information, contact the Consultations and Public Opinion Research Unit.

Key Findings:

• The majority (82%) of Canadians feel very (24%) or somewhat (58%) safe from ‘a potential terrorist attack when flying’.
  • 5% of Canadians feel not at all safe, and another 14% feel not very safe, from a potential attack.
• Over three quarters (78%) of Canadians say that they are ‘about as likely’ to travel abroad since 9/11, compared to 16% who are less likely to travel, and 6% who are more likely to travel (due to the increased security measures which were put in place subsequent to 9/11).
• Nearly three quarters (74%) of Canadians strongly (22%) or somewhat (52%) agree that ‘our society has become less tolerant of others’ since 9/11.
• 60% of Canadians agree (16% strongly, 44% somewhat) that ‘Muslims in Canada are discriminated against more than before’.
  • 81% of respondents agree that ‘Muslims in Canada should receive the same treatment as any other Canadian’. Demographically, those who disagree are more likely to be Albertans (31%) and those without a high school education (28%).

Immigrants and their children less satisfied than the Canadian-born, Dalhousie University study finds

Background: This study analyzed data from the Canada Community Health Survey (CCHS) of 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, and 2008 to study how satisfaction levels varied between immigrants and their children as compared to Canadian-born adults and children. This study used 5686 immigrant responses (1140 children and 4546 adults) in its analysis. The full study can be found here (PDF).

Key Findings:

• When children aged 12 to 17 were asked to rate their overall life satisfaction, 9% of immigrant girls stated that they were “not satisfied,” compared to 6% of Canadian girls, 6% of immigrant boys, and 4% of Canadian boys.
• When adults were asked to rate their overall life satisfaction, 13% of recent immigrant mothers felt they were “not satisfied,” compared to 12% of recent immigrant fathers, and 6% each of Canadian mothers and fathers.
  • Recent immigrant parents were also less likely to state that they felt “very satisfied” with life: 23% of recent immigrant mothers and 24% of recent immigrant fathers felt very satisfied, compared to 45% of Canadian mothers and 43% of Canadian fathers.
• One potential reason for dissatisfaction according to the authors of this study (Peter Burton and Shelley Phipps) was a significant gap in income: recent immigrant mothers reported a total family income of $30,092, and immigrant fathers reported an income of $32,593. This compares to total incomes of $44,619 (as reported by Canadian mothers) and $50,727 (as reported by Canadian fathers).
• Recent immigrant parents reported having poorer health than Canadian-born parents. 46% of immigrant mothers and 41% of immigrant fathers rated their health as being “good, fair or poor,” compared to 32% of Canadian-born mothers and 34% of Canadian-born fathers.
• Recent immigrant parents reported having a higher level of education than their Canadian-born counterparts. 87% each of recent immigrant mothers and fathers reported having post-secondary education, compared to 81% of Canadian mothers and 84% of fathers.

Ipsos Global Advisor survey measures Canadians’ attitudes on immigration

Background: The Ipsos Global Advisor survey measures the attitudes of citizens of 23 countries on a variety of topics, including immigration. The study was conducted monthly via an online panel. Between 500 and 1000 individuals from each country participated, and data was weighed to reflect the countries’ respective demographics. For more information, contact the Consultations and Public Opinion Research Unit.

Key Findings:

• 42% of Canadians ‘strongly’ or ‘tend to’ agree that “there are too many immigrants in our country”.
  • Those least likely to agree with the statement are residents of Poland (29%), South Korea (24%) and Japan (15%) of the countries included in the study.
  • The participants most likely to agree that there are too many immigrants are from Russia (77%), Belgium (72%) and Great Britain (71%).
  • 59% of respondents from the United States agree with this statement.
• 56% of Canadians feel that “immigration has placed too much pressure on public services,” and is tied with France and Italy in agreement.
  • Those least likely to agree are again residents of Poland, South Korea and Japan (at 27%, 25% and 28% respectively).
  • Those most likely to agree are residents of Great Britain (76%), Spain (70%) and Belgium (68%).
  • 66% of residents of the United States agreed with this statement, placing them fourth highest in agreement.
• 48% of Canadians feel that “immigrants make [our country] a more interesting place to live,” placing them second only to Brazil (with 49% agreement).
  • Those least likely to agree are residents of Japan, Spain (both with 18%) and Russia (12%).
  • After Canada, those most likely to agree with the statement are residents of Australia, India (46% each) and Sweden (44%).
  • 36% of those from the United States agree with this statement.
• 43% of Canadians agree that “immigration is good for the economy of [our country],” placing them third on the list after Brazil and India (with 47% and 45% agreement, respectively).
  • Those least likely to agree with this statement are residents of Russia (15%), Turkey (14%) and Hungary (13%).
• 41% of Canadians agree that “immigrants in [our country] have made it more difficult for [Canadians] to get jobs” (see chart on following page).

Agreement (%) with the statement: “Immigrants in [our country] have made it more difficult for [country] people to get jobs”

StatsCan study reveals that immigrant employees less likely to receive job training

• Note: Although Statistics Canada’s Access and Support to Education and Training Survey (ASETS) was conducted in 2008, Statistics Canada analysed this data and published its study in 2011. The 2008 ASETS data is the most recent data on job training.

• Background: These findings on job training were revealed through an analysis of ASETS data, which provides detailed information on adult education including job-related training. The survey also collects data on demographic, labour market and immigration characteristics. This article focuses on the population age 18 to 64 who worked at a job or business at any time between July 2007 and June 2008, excluding full-time students and temporary residents. More information on this study can be found here.

Key Findings:

• Overall, Canadian-born employees received more job-related training than immigrant employees. In 2007-2008, 35% of Canadian-born men received job training compared to 31% of immigrant men. Among women, 37% of the Canadian-born and 33% of immigrant workers took some job-related training.
  • Immigrant men were almost 20% less likely and immigrant women were about 15% less likely than their Canadian-born counterparts to receive job training.
  • Non-citizen employees were also less likely to receive job-related training. Only 1 in 5 non-citizen men received job training in 2008 compared with 35% of the Canadian-born and 32% of naturalized citizens.
  • Immigrants who came to Canada within the last 10 years were less likely than the Canadian-born to have access to job training. The rate of job training for recent immigrant women (24%) was significantly lower than the rates for established immigrants (34%) and non-immigrants (37%).
• Job-training experiences over the past 5 years also differed. For example, 62% of immigrant women employees reported not having received any job training in this period compared to 53% of non-immigrant women.
• Most training (83%) was at least partially supported by the employer. Immigrant employees were less likely to take job-related courses that their employers supported in any way than their non-immigrant counterparts. Much of the gap was due to differences in the rate of financial support for training.
• Professional training was the most frequently mentioned category for immigrants, accounting for one-quarter of training activities of both women and men.
  • Immigrant men took more computer-related courses compared to their non-immigrant counterparts (16% compared to 9%).
• 92% of immigrant men and 87% of immigrant women reported that their training activities helped them achieve the training objectives they had set.
• Certain groups of immigrants were less likely to receive training. For example, among female workers, family-class immigrants had significantly lower odds of receiving training and lower incidence rates (6% point difference) than Canadian-born workers.