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right-leaning men make up large percentage of canada's unvaccinated

a new angus reid poll found that young men who voted for right-leaning political parties were most likely to refuse the covid vaccine.

right-leaning men make up large percentage of canada's unvaccinated
hundreds of people attended the ‘world wide rally for freedom’ outside the alberta legislature on sept. 18. (artur widak / nurphoto) artur widak / nurphoto

a new angus reid poll has shed light on the reasons canada’s unvaccinated population is refusing the covid-19 jab. most people who haven’t yet received a vaccine dose say they’re doing it either because they don’t think they should have to, or they don’t think the vaccine is safe. men were more likely to refuse the jab than women, and more than half of the unvaccinated population believes covid-related conspiracy theories. and one of the most striking statistics involves political leanings: 68 per cent of unvaccinated canadians voted for right-wing parties in september’s election.

the poll was conducted online, with a representative randomized sample of 5,011 canadian adults.

most eligible canadians — 83 per cent of people 12 and older — are fully vaccinated according to statistics canada: as of oct. 23, 88 per cent have received at least one dose. that makes canada the 14th most vaccinated country in the world, behind countries including south korea, portugal and chile. most canadian provinces hover between the high 80s and low 90s in terms of the eligible population who have received at least one dose, the new poll found. nova scotia and newfoundland lead the pack with 92 per cent, while ontario and alberta are the least-vaccinated provinces at 86 per cent.

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 (angus reid institute)
(angus reid institute)
many of these people were young and male: men, especially those between the ages of 18 and 34, were more likely to be unvaccinated than women. twelve per cent of young men in that age group said they will continue to refuse the vaccine.
in talking to the canadians who haven’t received even a single dose, the poll found that 84 per cent of that population said their immune system could easily fight a covid infection, with 90 per cent saying the risks of covid are understated.

that’s a common attitude, especially from young people who are relatively healthy, infectious diseases specialist dr. susy hota of toronto’s university health network previously told healthing — but it’s also inaccurate.

“a lot of people remember the messages from the early stages of the pandemic, where the vast majority of individuals getting really sick and dying from covid-19 were older canadians, people in long-term care,” hota said. “at the beginning, the whole thing was a lot scarier to people, and everyone was paying more attention. so that thought, that ‘this is a disease that only affects older people,’ is burned into many people’s brains.”

by the pandemic’s third wave, though, a notably different age group started making up the bulk of new cases and hospitalizations: people in their 20s, 30s and 40s.

when asked about the main reasons they’ve refused the vaccine, the poll’s most common answers — both considered a major reason by 58 per cent of respondents — were personal freedom and health concerns; 34 per cent said they didn’t consider covid to be a serious threat to their health.
people with university degrees were more likely to be vaccinated than those who stopped their education right after high school. but one surprise was the stat about household income: while education level might suggest that lower-income people were more likely to refuse the vaccine, the highest percentage of canadians who said they would definitely not get vaccinated were people with a household income between $150,000 and $200,000.

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 (angus reid institute)
(angus reid institute)

another striking statistic was related to political affiliation. in the federal election earlier this fall, the largest chunk of voters — 36 per cent — had voted for the people’s party of canada. that party’s leader, maxime bernier, said he won’t get vaccinated , and has participated in anti-mask and anti-vaccine rallies in cities including toronto , calgary and regina (where he got a $2,800 ticket for breaking public health orders).

the second-largest chunk of unvaccinated canadians, 32 per cent, voted for the conservative party, and 13 per cent said they had not voted in the election. by contrast, three per cent had voted for the liberals and for the ndp, and one per cent each for the green party and the bloc quebecois.
 (angus reid institute)
(angus reid institute)
just over half of unvaccinated respondents — 55 per cent — said that they believe that covid is a conspiracy for the government to gain control. those numbers were higher in older people: 66 people aged 55 and over believe covid is a conspiracy, compared to 54 per cent of people between 35 and 54, and half of people between 18 and 34.

the u.s. centers for disease control and prevention estimates that unvaccinated people are 11 times more likely than vaccinated people to die from covid. when she spoke to healthing earlier this year about vaccine hesitancy, hota said one-on-one conversations can help a lot. she holds info sessions with people who have questions about the vaccine, and says she only convinces a few people at a time — but progress is being made.

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“every time you do a session, you have maybe 20 people in the room who are sitting on the fence, and you get through to a small number of them each time — maybe five, maybe just three,” she said. “it’s a lot of effort for three people or five people, but that’s how you have to do it. you just have to pick away at it.”

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