Ottawa – A new survey by the Canadian Studies Association (ACS) suggests the country is divided over plans to send Canadian athletes to the Tokyo Olympics as Japan tries to contain the sudden spike in COVID-19 cases.
Of those surveyed, 42% believed that Canadian athletes should not participate in the Summer Games – which have already been postponed by a year – while 39% supported the presence of Team Canada in competitions.
When asked whether they think it is safe for Canadian athletes to participate in the Tokyo Games, 46% of respondents said no while 35% said yes and 19% are unsure.
This photo should provide Canadians divided on the subject with a way out for government authorities to make the final decision, believes Léger’s executive vice president, Christian Burke.
“The Canadians are very divided and apparently not convinced that it is safe for the athletes,” said Mr. Burke, “It’s like they say, ‘If we go then it’s okay if we don’t go that’s okay too.'”
But the latter was surprised by the poll results.
“Usually, this is something Canadians love to celebrate, be it summer or winter,” he said.
“In general, the maple leaf scene in competition venues causes TV viewership to rise. I was expecting Canadians to enjoy the possibility that they would finally be able to have fun,” said Christian Burke.
It is therefore noted that the Canadians responded to this survey with caution.
The survey was conducted online with 1,529 Canadians and 1,003 Americans between May 7-9. It cannot be assigned a margin of error because the sampling method is not probability.
