(11/11/10) -

Three-in-Four Britons Foresee a Terrorist Attack in the Next Year

Three-in-five Americans believe a terrorist attack is likely to happen in their country—only 38 per cent of Canadians concur.

People in Britain are clearly more concerned about dealing with terrorism in the next year than their counterparts in the United States and Canada, a new three-country Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

In late October, two explosive devices planted on cargo planes that were bound for the U.S. were intercepted after a tip-off from an al-Qaeda member in Saudi Arabia who turned himself in to authorities.

The online survey of representative national samples shows that three-in-four Britons (74%) believe that it is “very likely” or “moderately likely” that a terrorist attack will happen in the United Kingdom in the next year. Only 15 per cent of respondents think a terrorist attack is “not too likely” or “not likely at all.”

A majority of Americans (59%) also believe that the possibility of their country being affected by terrorism is “very likely” or “moderately likely”, while 29 per cent disagree.

In Canada, which has not faced a terrorist attack recently but experienced the trial of members of a home-grown terrorist cell (known as the Toronto 18), only 38 per cent of respondents expect to face terrorism in the next year. A majority of Canadians (54%) believe this is “not too likely” or “not at all likely.”

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Communications & Media Relations
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From November 3 to November 5, 2010 Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,024 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists, 2,129 American adults who are Springboard America panellists, and 2,001 British adults who are Springboard UK panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1% for Canada and 2.2% for the United States and Great Britain. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Canada, the U.S. and Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.