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54% of Canadians oppose Afghan mission

by albertacowpoke | July 16, 2009 at 04:15 am

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According to a poll released Thursday morning, a slim majority of Canadians now oppose the Afghanistan mission. The poll conducted by EKOS was commissioned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC).

The poll which broke the support down in regions, suggests that opposition is strongest in Quebec and Ontario.

Alberta had the strongest support with 42% for and 45% against the mission.

The poll question was straight forward: "Do you support or oppose Canadian military participation in Afghanistan?"

Canada has been in Afghanistan since early 2002. The Canadian Parliament has voted to terminate the military mission in 2011.

124 soldiers and one Diplomat have been killed, four in the last two weeks.

A slim majority of Canadians oppose Canada's participation in the ongoing war in Afghanistan, with the strongest opposition coming from Quebec, an EKOS poll suggests.

The poll, commissioned for CBC and released Thursday, asked: "Do you support or oppose Canadian military participation in Afghanistan?"

Nationally, 54 per cent said they opposed it, while 34 per cent said they supported it, according to the poll. Twelve per cent were undecided.

Opposition was decisive in Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, while Western Canada had a narrower gap between those who support the mission and those who oppose it, EKOS found.

The survey suggests the strongest opposition exists in Quebec, with 73 per cent of those polled saying they didn't support Canada's participation. Fifteen per cent offered their support.

Alberta had the strongest support for the mission, at 42 per cent, while 45 per cent were opposed, the poll suggested. In British Columbia, opposition was at 49 per cent while 40 per cent offered support.

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Amy Judd

at 08:11 on July 16th, 2009

To be honest, I thought it would be higher

albertacowpoke

at 08:20 on July 16th, 2009

It's not high on the thermometer of the Canadian media. I think things may heat up this fall, especially if we find ourselves in an election cycle. Brian Stewart of the CBC has made some excellent documentaries on this.

albertacowpoke

at 08:26 on July 16th, 2009

Thank you louis

158

at 13:01 on July 16th, 2009

This is not surprising.

It has gone on for 8 years with little progress and no end in sight.

albertacowpoke

at 13:15 on July 16th, 2009

There has been some progress, but it requires that Karzai and his governing team in Kabul take the bull by the horn. NATO forces cannot hold a place after they secure it. This is on of the main complaints of the Marine Corps general commanding Operation Strike the Sword. He only has 650 ANA troops with him.

Although some progress has been made with training of the ANA using Operational Mentor Liason Teams, very little progress has been made by the National police force. This problem is also being adressed by Police Operational Mentor Liaison Teams.

What happens in Pakistan is also important. As long as the insurgents can run across the border recuperate and get resupplied this attack and run tactic will continue.