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51% Of Canadians Support The Mission In Afghanistan

4K views 76 replies 16 participants last post by  Aardvark 
#1 ·
Unlike some would have you believe:

“OTTAWA - Canadian support for the military mission in Afghanistan remains surprisingly stable, including in Quebec, despite the loss of three soldiers from that province in the past week, a new CanWest News Service/Global National poll suggests.
The poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid found 51 per cent of respondents across the country said they support the mission, while 45 per cent oppose it. The numbers remained virtually unchanged from a month ago.”

http://www.canada.com/edmontonjournal/news/story.html?id=d125b279-9c7d-4bbe-8aba-8d3b4501ff35
 
#5 ·
I'm sure there'll be a statistician along any moment with further details, but the reason you often see samples of around 1,000 for opinion polls is that they'd have to interview more than twice as many people to reduce the margin of error from +/- 3% to +/- 2% @ 95% confidence.

I agree the sample is too small to say much about any one province (sample size = about 250 for Quebec, thus margin of error is much higher), but it's a very common sample size for a national poll.

The question to ask is: who did the poll, and exactly what did they ask?

Since this one was done by a presumably more-or-less neutral third party, I'd be inclined to give it the benefit of the doubt (in terms of statistical validity of the national results) but am still curious to see exactly what the questions were.
 
#8 ·
Unlike some would have you believe:
Not that SINC would deliberately remove some parts of the story...

he deaths of soldiers from the Quebec-based Van Doos regiment could alter the whole equation. In the one province already firmly opposed to sending troops to Afghanistan, a CROP survey partly conducted after the death of Private Simon Longtin on Sunday recorded an 11 percentage point increase, to 68%, of Quebecers opposed to their compatriots being involved in the conflict. That was before the two most recent deaths.
But until the past few days, at least, opinion levels were surprisingly predictable.
A series of polls conducted by Ipsos Reid for CanWest News Service and Global Television since January, 2006, all asking the same question, has seen support for the mission roller-coaster from 44% to 52%, then back down below 50%, then up again to a peak of 57% last fall. There has been a slow slide to 50% support since then, but the results over 18 months plot a relatively flat line that has hovered around 50% backing.
The company found that news of a soldier being killed did not seem to alter the polling numbers significantly, Mr. Wright said.
Strategic Counsel has recorded similar fluctuations and a similar range of variation in its polls since early 2006, after a fast drop from 55% support in March of that year.
The difference is that its surveys have backing for the mission hovering around the 40% mark, 10 points below those of Ipsos Reid.
A spokesman for the company refused to comment on its results, citing its contract with another media outlet. Rob Huebert of the University of Calgary's Centre for Military and Strategic Studies suggested the difference in the two pollsters' results can be traced to the questions they pose.
Ipsos Reid asks respondents about their support for "the use of Canada's troops for security and combat efforts against the Taliban and al-Qaeda in Afghanistan."
Strategic Counsel asks simply about "the decision to send Canadian troops to Afghanistan."
"They set up the issue differently," Prof. Huebert said. "It is not a coincidence that the one that clearly defines the threat gets the higher response ... People won't think immediately of why we are there. If you mention Taliban and al-Qaeda, people will clue in."
In a string of polls for the National Defence Department in late 2006 and early 2007, Ipsos Reid tweaked the questions even further, and found dramatic differences in response.

When the question referred to military operations that help to secure "the environment for the civilian population" through activities "that include combat," backing shot up to the low 60s.
After a lengthy preamble that said Canada is trying to improve human rights for women and build a more free and democratic society in Afghanistan, another question drew support from 81%.
It suggests that explaining the purpose of the mission is all-important if the government wants to boost the tepid support among Canadians for the operation, said Alex Morrison of the Canadian Institute for Strategic Studies.
"The polling has indicated to the government that it is not doing a good job of communicating why we are in Afghanistan. The government recognizes that but consistently refuses to do anything about it," he said.
"Unless the government starts telling Canadians often, frequently, why we are there, I don't think the numbers will change very much."
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/...fa1a8-866d-4c2c-8042-f8013c8f4f80&k=62450&p=2

In other words, it's all in the marketing but it will not change the fact that this is a fool's errant and a waste of life.
 
#25 ·
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/...fa1a8-866d-4c2c-8042-f8013c8f4f80&k=62450&p=2

In other words, it's all in the marketing but it will not change the fact that this is a fool's errant and a waste of life.

"When the question referred to military operations that help to secure "the environment for the civilian population" through activities "that include combat," backing shot up to the low 60s.

After a lengthy preamble that said Canada is trying to improve human rights for women and build a more free and democratic society in Afghanistan, another question drew support from 81%."

Interesting stuff. I disagree with your conclusion but, yes, it does matter how foreign policy is communicated.
 
#13 ·
Unlike some would have you believe:

“OTTAWA - Canadian support for the military mission in Afghanistan remains surprisingly stable, including in Quebec, despite the loss of three soldiers from that province in the past week, a new CanWest News Service/Global National poll suggests.
The poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid found 51 per cent of respondents across the country said they support the mission, while 45 per cent oppose it. The numbers remained virtually unchanged from a month ago.”

Canadian support for the mission holding steady: poll
from the article;

The poll reveals that the strongest support for the mission is in Alberta (72 per cent)
most warlike Canadians ?
 
#20 ·
SINC, I've been rather generous lately and try to avoid you. I've never hid or played games like you do. Instead of skirting what I think, I have no qualms at calling you an idiot when you get more obtuse than normal.

Now will you go cry to the mods?
 
#26 ·
I believe SINC only posted this because so many ehMAcers have been bawling that... "the majority of Canadians want Canada out out out of Afghanistan--oh why won't you listen to the majority!??--sob, snif!"

He merely points out that they had better produce a more cogent argument.
 
#39 ·
something I found in another ehmac thread;

Only seven per cent of Canadians strongly support the Afghanistan mission, while the total number of those opposed in Quebec remains high at 75 per cent, according to a new poll by The Strategic Counsel.

The survey, conducted between July 12-16 [2007] for CTV and The Globe and Mail, suggests the level of intensity for Canadians strongly opposed to the mission is far greater than those who are in firm support: (percentage point change from a July 12-15, 2006 poll in brackets):

Total Support: 36 per cent (-3)
Strongly Support: 7 per cent (-1)
Support: 29 per cent (-2)
Oppose: 31 per cent (same)
Strongly oppose: 27 per cent (+2)
Total Oppose: 59 per cent (+3)


.....

When asked who respondents would vote for today, more Quebecers supported the Bloc Quebecois and Liberals (percentage point change from a May 14-17 poll in brackets):

Bloc Quebecois: 40 per cent (-1)
Liberals: 25 per cent (+1)
Conservatives: 16 per cent (-4)
NDP: 10 per cent (+4)
Greens: 9 per cent (same)

But across Canada, it remains a horse race between the Conservatives and Liberals, suggesting neither party has the momentum needed to secure a majority government:


Conservatives: 31 per cent (- 3 per cent)
Liberals: 31 per cent (same)
NDP: 17 per cent (+1)
Bloc Quebecois: 10 per cent (same)
Greens: 10 per cent (+1)
CTV.ca | Most Canadians oppose Afghanistan mission: poll
 
#44 ·
was posted on ehmac about a week ago

http://www.ehmac.ca/everything-else-eh/44716-taliban-suffer-crushing-defeat-27.html

A check of the facts shows that Western forces have been killing civilians at a faster rate than the insurgents have been killing civilians.

The U.S. and NATO say they don't have civilian casualty figures, but The Associated Press has been keeping count based on figures from Afghan and international officials. Tracking civilian deaths is a difficult task because they often occur in remote and dangerous areas that are difficult to reach and verify.

As of Aug. 1, the AP count shows that while militants killed 231 civilians in attacks in 2007, Western forces killed 286. Another 20 were killed in crossfire that can't be attributed to one party.
Fact Check: Obama on Afghanistan - Forbes.com
 
#55 ·
Just to show how poll results are trult products of the question and not of much else:
Europeans, Canadians See Afghan Mission as Failure: Angus Reid Global Monitor
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research
Europeans, Canadians See Afghan Mission as Failure
August 27, 2007

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Few adults in five nations that have provided military assistance in Afghanistan believe the mission is proceeding adequately, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. Only 22 per cent of respondents in Canada think the war against militant groups in Afghanistan has been mostly a success.

Italy is next on the list with 18 per cent, followed by Britain with 16 per cent, Germany with 15 per cent, and France with 12 per cent. More than 60 per cent of German, Italian, British and French respondents—as well as 49 per cent of Canadians—think the military effort in Afghanistan has been a failure so far.
 
#64 ·
What's hilarious are those who claim to support the troops who have yet to even TALK to one and get their perspective. Nope... and I doubt they ever will. Those particular individuals will continue to sling mud and make personal insults because they have absolutely nothing to offer but hyperbole and soundbites.

I have two close friends who are both going to Afganistan (one in Cold Lake Alberta, one in Halifax)--BY CHOICE--to continue with the efforts to help rebuild. For one of them it'll be their second tour. Another friend in Petawawa is expected to ship over sometime late 2009 after his training is complete. My neighbor is recently retired and had toured all over Europe including Bosnia and Croatia.

And there are others that I could mention (including a husband/wife who are both in Afghanistan right now.) But I'll save it. I have a feeling it would be wasted on a few deaf ears.

Not a single one of them think the mission is a waste. At all. They don't think it's useless, or a no-win situation. But... I'm sure MS will have some semi-witty retort about how soldiers obey and don't ask questions, etc., etc.

~

In response to Jonesy and MS: Why don't I join the forces? Because I don't meet their requirements. What's your excuse? If you want our soldiers out of Afghanistan, what are you doing to help get them out of their? Not a whole lot other than yammering on a web board, I suspect. Possibly a letter to the PM (But I doubt it.)

Bravo! :lmao:
 
#70 ·
What's hilarious are those who claim to support the troops who have yet to even TALK to one and get their perspective. Nope... and I doubt they ever will. Those particular individuals will continue to sling mud and make personal insults because they have absolutely nothing to offer but hyperbole and soundbites.

I have two close friends who are both going to Afganistan (one in Cold Lake Alberta, one in Halifax)--BY CHOICE--to continue with the efforts to help rebuild. For one of them it'll be their second tour. Another friend in Petawawa is expected to ship over sometime late 2009 after his training is complete. My neighbor is recently retired and had toured all over Europe including Bosnia and Croatia.

And there are others that I could mention (including a husband/wife who are both in Afghanistan right now.) But I'll save it. I have a feeling it would be wasted on a few deaf ears.

Not a single one of them think the mission is a waste. At all. They don't think it's useless, or a no-win situation. But... I'm sure MS will have some semi-witty retort about how soldiers obey and don't ask questions, etc., etc.

~

In response to Jonesy and MS: Why don't I join the forces? Because I don't meet their requirements. What's your excuse? If you want our soldiers out of Afghanistan, what are you doing to help get them out of their? Not a whole lot other than yammering on a web board, I suspect. Possibly a letter to the PM (But I doubt it.)

Bravo! :lmao:
I've been writing my Conservative MP on a regular basis as well as members of the Liberal party that voted for the extension. I have also written to members of the cabinet and the prime minister. I have written to the federal executive of the Liberal Party of Canada and let them know that I will not be writing any cheques to them due to the expansion and extension of the mission to Afghanistan, which was supported by several prominent and not so prominent Liberal MPs.

I have also written letters to the editor and written to newspapers when they have produced pro Afghanistan war pieces.

Although it may seem "Not a whole lot more other than yammering on a web board" to you (since I assume your Kreskin-esque abilities must be in full swing), I feel it's about the most I can do for now, until an election comes up, when I will be bringing the issue front and centre in any debates of candidates in my riding.
 
#65 ·
Right on Manny! :clap:

My next door neighbour is 37, been to Bosnia five times and is currently training to go to Afghanistan to help with the mission. He leaves a wife and two children home to await his return.

He tells me it is critical that we continue to rebuild the war torn country and is disappointed that peace niks continue to bad mouth our soldiers efforts.
 
#77 ·
war support? Ha!, silly concept.

How can anyone believe the Propaganda...... history repeats, rulers crave power, rulers control media, ...... sound familiar?! I would bet that the majority of Canadians resent being involved this stupid "war". However, this tune believes that Hitler, oops I mean Bush , is at "War " with the American people..... so what do I know?!

I wish our men could come back and we could get back to peace keeping missions. :(
 
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