Polls & Research

More Canadians Oppose Afghanistan Mission

- Fewer adults in Canada are in favour of their country's participation in the war on terrorism, according to a poll by Ipsos-Reid released by CanWest Global. 54 per cent of respondents oppose the use of Canada's troops for security and combat efforts against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, up 16 points since September.

Afghanistan has been the main battleground in the war on terrorism. The conflict began in October 2001, after the Taliban regime refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.

Canadians renewed the House of Commons in January. 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. Since February, Harper leads a minority administration after more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party.

In May, the House of Commons extended Canada's mission in Afghanistan until February 2009. At least 498 soldiers—including 42 Canadians—have died in the war on terrorism, either in support of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom or as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Yesterday, Canadian foreign minister Peter MacKay discussed the effect of the U.S. mid-term congressional election in the Afghanistan mission, saying, "We're going to continue to reach out to our NATO allies and request further support for the work that we're doing in the south, so that we can increase the security and stability there, so we can continue with the development work that's under way. That's our focus."

The Republican Party lost control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the Nov. 7 election. Defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld will be replaced by Robert Gates.

Polling Data

Do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose the use of Canada's troops for security and combat efforts against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan?