(03/03/11) -

Britons and Canadians Oppose Afghan War; Americans Evenly Divided

Respondents in Britain and Canada voice opposition to the military effort by a 2-to-1 margin.

While the military effort in Afghanistan continues to split views in the United States, Canadians and Britons are more likely to oppose it now than at the end of 2010, a new Vision Critical / Angus Reid poll has found.

The online survey of representative samples in the three countries also shows that Canadians now illustrate the highest level of opposition to the military operation in Afghanistan over the past 12 months.

United States

A year ago, a majority of Americans (58%) supported the mission in Afghanistan, while about two-in-five (38%) opposed it.

Now, in a trend that began late last year, respondents are evenly split, with 47 per cent backing the mission, and 46 per cent opposing it. The level of rejection to the Afghan mission is highest in the Northeast and West (both at 49%) and lowest in the South (44%).

Britain

For more than a year, a majority of Britons has expressed opposition to the mission in Afghanistan. This month, only 31 per cent of respondents are backing the military operation, while 60 per cent are against it.

This month’s result matches the high level of opposition to the mission, which was recorded in October 2010. Respondents in London (63%) and Scotland (62%) are more likely to reject the military operation.

Canada

For the first time since the war began, three-in-five Canadians (63%) voice opposition to the mission in Afghanistan. Support for the military effort has dropped to the lowest level recorded (32%).

This month’s numbers represent a drastic shift from a survey conducted a year ago, where 47 per cent of Canadians backed the war. Even in Alberta, which has traditionally been supportive of the military operation in previous surveys, support has dropped to just two-in-five respondents (43%). Quebecers, as has been the case for the past year, remain staunchly opposed to the mission (75%).

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

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

Methodology: From February 22 to February 28, 2011, Vision Critical conducted an online survey among 1,022 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists, 1,006 American adults who are Springboard America panellists, and 2,019 British adults who are Springboard UK panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1% for Canada and the United States and 2.2% for 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.