- Reaction score
- 4,154
- Points
- 1,260
This from QMI, shared in accordance with the "fair dealing" provisions, Section 29, of the Copyright Act.
A majority of Canadians say former colonel Russell Williams' guilty pleas on rape and murder charges haven't affected their opinion of the military, according to an exclusive QMI Agency poll.
When asked what best represented their attitude about how the case affected their view of the Canadian military, 59% of people polled said the case had no impact on their opinion. About one in five, or 23%, said it hurt their opinion of the Canadian Forces, and 4% said it actually improved their view. Another 13% said they didn't know enough to have an opinion.
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A spokesman for Leger Marketing, which conducted the poll for QMI Agency, said while the polls' results may not be surprising, sometimes that's a good thing.
“You would hope that something like the Russell Williams trial doesn't tarnish the Canadian military's reputation but you never really know how people are going to associate him,” Dave Scholz said.
“This is a very positive story for the military.”
The poll also found more than half of Canadians like the military, with 56% saying they have either a very good or good opinion, and 10% reporting a poor or very poor opinion. Almost a quarter of respondents – 24% – said they were neutral.
Men were more likely than women to have a good opinion, with 61% saying they like the military. Just over half of women agreed, with 51% answering positively.
The poll also shows the older you are, the more likely you are to approve of the Canadian Forces.
Quebecers were the least likely in the country to have a good opinion of the military, with 42% approving compared to 60% for the rest of Canada. About 17% of Quebecers were likely to have a bad opinion of the Armed Forces. The next lowest support was in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, where 56% of people polled had a positive opinion of the military and 11% were negative.
Leger did the polling online from Nov. 1-4, 2010. The company polled 1,503 Canadians 18 or older. A telephone poll of this size would have a margin of error of /- 2.6%.