(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Canadian adults continue to disagree with the decision to prolong the country’s mandate in Afghanistan until 2011, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 34 per cent of respondents agree with the extension, while 59 per cent disagree.

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.

At least 956 soldiers—including 97 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).

Canadians renewed the House of Commons in January 2006. 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 formed a minority administration after more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party.

In May 2006, the House of Commons extended Canada’s mission in Afghanistan until February 2009. In March 2008, the House of Commons voted 198-77 to prolong the military deployment until the end of 2011. The Conservative and Liberal parties supported the motion, while the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Québécois opposed it.

On Sept. 10, Harper—in the middle of a federal electoral campaign—assured that there would be no new extension of the mission if he forms the government again, saying, "You have to put an end date on these things. By 2011, we will have been in Kandahar, which is probably the toughest province in the country, for six years. Not only have we done our bit at that point, I think our goal has to be after six years to see the government of Afghanistan able to carry the lion’s share of responsibility for its own security. At that point, the mission, as we’ve known it, we intend to end."

Polling Data

As you may know, the House of Commons has authorized an extension of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan until the end of 2011. Do you agree or disagree with the decision to extend Canada’s mission in Afghanistan until the end of 2011?

Source: Angus Reid Strategies
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,001 Canadian adults, conducted on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10, 2008. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

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