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Canadians OK with Religion in Politics
(Angus Reid Global Scan) - Many adults in Canada would not take faith into special consideration when choosing a party leader, according to poll by Ipsos-Reid released by CanWest Global. 68 per cent of respondents say they would be willing to vote for a potential prime minister who was an atheist, or a Muslim, and 63 per cent would back an Evangelical.
Canadians renewed the House of Commons on Jan. 23. The Conservative party—led by Stephen Harper—received 36.3 per cent of the vote, and secured 124 seats in the 308-member lower house. Harper, who was sworn in on Feb. 6, leads a minority administration after more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party.
Following a Mar. 13 speech to Canadian troops in Afghanistan, and at the end of an address to his party's national caucus on Mar. 28, Harper said, "God bless Canada."
According to the 2001 population census, there were 580,000 Muslims in Canada—roughly 1.8 per cent of the country's population. Conservative party member Rahim Jaffer was the only Muslim member of the House of Commons from 2000 to 2004.
Polling Data
If a party leader and potential prime minister belongs to a political party you like and has many views which you like, would you be willing to vote for their party if leader of the party is:
An atheist and does not believe in God | 68% |
A Muslim | 68% |
An Evangelical | 63% |
Source: Ipsos-Reid / CanWest Global
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 814 Canadian adults, conducted on Apr. 11 and Apr. 12, 2006. Margin of error is 3.5 per cent.