More than half of Canadians support Beijing Olympics boycott, survey shows
- 54 per cent of Canadians support boycott of 2022 Olympic Games, while 24 per cent oppose
- 49 per cent of ‘Canadians of East Asian descent’ agree, 29 per cent do not
More than half of Canadians oppose participation in the 2022 Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, according to a recent survey, underscoring the negative public opinion in the country toward China stemming from allegations of human rights abuses.
Online polling of 1,000 Canadians found that 54 per cent believe that the country “definitely should / probably should” boycott the international competition, while 24 per cent said “probably should not / definitely should not”, Canadian polling firm Research Co. said on Thursday. Twenty-one per cent of the respondents said they were not sure.
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Those surveyed, statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and regions of the country, were asked to consider the following question: “Over the past few months, there have been calls for athletes and Olympic Committees around the world to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics over China’s human rights record.
“From what you have seen, read or heard, do you think Canada should boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics?”
Support for a boycott was highest among Canadians aged 55 and over, at 61 per cent. The survey also found support for a boycott ran at 57 per cent among men, and at 51 per cent among women.
Among responses from “Canadians of East Asian descent”, 49 per cent supported the boycott, 29 per cent opposed and 22 per cent were undecided.