A poll was released on September 11, 2011, timed to coincide with the tenth anniversary of the attacks upon the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The poll was commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies and was conducted by Leger Marketing.
The survey was conducted by means of a web panel and 1500 Canadians were interviewed. The poll was taken between September 6 and September 8, 2011.
Men Less Concerned About Terrorism than Women
A greater percentage of Canadian men have less concern of the threat of terrorism than do women. And more men than women believe that measures taken to combat terrorism have been effective.
A little less than one quarter of those polled (24%) believe that the world is now a safer place than it was 10 years ago. Twenty-seven per cent of men feel more secure while only one in five women think the world is in fact safer now than it was on September 11, 2001.
When people were asked if too much attention was being paid to terrorism, only 38% of those surveyed agreed. More men believed governments were paying too much attention to terrorism (43%) than women (33%).
Over half (55%) of respondents told the pollster that they do not worry about terrorism when they fly. While 60% of men have no concerns, only 51% of women feel safe when they are on board an aircraft.
When it comes to the issue of individual rights and civil liberties, less than half of the respondents (42%) believe it is necessary for people to forgo some civil liberties in order to fight terrorism. The difference between responses of men and women were fairly close; 43% of men agree with the above statement while 42% of women share the same view.
Respondents were asked if security personnel at airports should be allowed to conduct extra security checks on those passengers who appear to be Muslims. More men (43%) agree that extra checks should be conducted while only 35% of women think these checks should be carried out.
Only 15% of those questioned believe the war in Afghanistan has reduced the threat of future terrorist attacks. While 22% of men feel the war has accomplished this, only 9% of women believe the war has reduced the terrorist threat.
Those who took part in the poll were asked if they believe most of the people responsible for the attacks ten years ago have been killed or taken into custody. Twenty-eight per cent agreed. More men believe this to be the case (30%) than women (21%).
Respondents were also asked if they believe there are irreconcilable differences between societies in the West and Muslim societies. Fifty six per cent of those questioned answered they agree with that statement. Almost three times as many men (60%) believe that these differences are irreconcilable than do women (21%).
Younger People Less Concerned About Terrorist Threats than Older Canadians
As well as being broken down by gender, the poll has also been broken down according to age. Those in younger age groups are less concerned about terrorism and future terrorist threats than are older people.
Twenty-six per cent of those in the 18-34 age group say they feel safer now than they did 10 years ago. Only 19% of respondents over the age of 65 years agree.
A relatively large gap appears in answer to the question whether some civil liberties should be given up in order to combat terrorism. Only 31% of those between the ages of 18-34 believe some rights should be taken away while over half of those polled who were 55 years of age and older agreed with the premise.
Over one half (51%) of respondents between the ages of 18 and 24 think that too much attention is currently being paid to terrorism. Only 31% of those in the 55-64 age group believe this to be the case. This percentage increases to 37% for those who are over 65.
A large age gap appears in response to the question of whether those who appear to be Muslim should be given greater security checks at airports. Less than one quarter (23%) of those in the 18-24 age group think this should be done while almost double (44%) of those between the ages of 55-64 are in favour of this practice. The percentage increases to 50% for respondents over the age of 65 years.
While 21% of the youngest group believe the war in Afghanistan has reduced the threat of terrorism, this percentage drops to the low teens for all those who are 25 years of age and older.
As to the question of irreconcilable differences between societies, 53% of the youngest group believe this is so whlie 62% of those between 55 and 64 agree. This percentage increases to 70% for those who are 65 years old or older.
The poll is considered accurate within 2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Arthur Weinreb - Weinreb is an author, associate editor and columnist with Canada Free Press and the Canadian Affairs Feature Writer for Suite 101.
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