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Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Canadians Split Over Same-Sex Marriage Bill
(Angus Reid - CPOD Global Scan) - Canadians remain divided over the concept of wedlock for gay and lesbian partners, according to a poll by Environics Research Group. 54 per cent of respondents believe Parliament should introduce a bill to include same-sex couples in the definition of marriage, while 43 per cent disagree.
Over the past two years, the courts in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, the Yukon, and Newfoundland and Labrador have ruled to permit legal same-sex marriages. On Dec. 9, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of allowing the federal government to go ahead with a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage. The country's foremost tribunal said the constitution protects the rights of homosexual partners to formalize their bonds.
In Quebec, British Columbia, Ontario and Atlantic Canada, at least 50 per cent of respondents supported the same-sex marriage bill. A majority of Canadian respondents over the age of 60 are opposed any changes to the definition of marriage.
The government is expected to introduce legislation this year. Prime minister Paul Martin has guaranteed Liberal party members a "free vote" on the bill. The governing Liberals currently control 134 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons.
This week, the Archbishop of Toronto—Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic—sent a letter to Martin urging him to preserve marriage as a heterosexual rite. In India, Sikh spiritual leader Giani Joginder Singh Vedanti condemned the Canadian government's proposal to introduce the same-sex marriage bill.
Polling Data
Same-sex marriage is currently legal in six provinces and one territory as a result of lower court decisions. The Supreme Court of Canada recently ruled that it is constitutional for Parliament to pass a law legalizing same-sex marriages all across the country. It also ruled that no religion would be forced to perform a same-sex marriage ceremony unless it wanted to. The federal government is planning to introduce a bill that will change the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples. Do you believe Parliament should, or should not pass such a law?
Yes | 54% |
No | 43% |
Depends / Don't know | 3% |
Provincial Breakdown
Yes | No | |
Quebec | 60% | 35% |
British Columbia | 60% | 38% |
Ontario | 55% | 43% |
Atlantic | 50% | 47% |
Manitoba | 46% | 52% |
Saskatchewan | 44% | 52% |
Alberta | 37% | 61% |
Age Group Breakdown
Yes | No | |
18-29 years | 54% | 43% |
30-44 years | 68% | 30% |
45-59 years | 57% | 41% |
60 years and over | 36% | 59% |
Source: Environics Research Group
Methodology: Interviews to 1,474 eligible and decided Canadian voters, conducted from Dec. 14, 2004 to Jan. 5, 2005. Margin of error is 2.2 per cent.
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