A new poll has found that nearly 30% of Canadians believe it's now time to lift pandemic restrictions and "learn to live" with the COVID-19 virus.
Another 40% of people polled said they want measures lifted but want them removed carefully.
A total of 43% of Canadians surveyed by Leger Marketing identified their feelings about the current state of the pandemic as “prudent,” saying they did not want to lift restrictions too quickly.
But 29% said they are fed-up and ready to move on, selecting the answer that said they were “adequately vaccinated” and viewed the Omicron variant as “less serious.” The other 28% of replies were evenly split among those who said they were anxious and those who were angry.
The online survey of 1,546 adult Canadians was conducted February 4 to 6; it cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered random samples.
Respondents from Alberta were the most opposed to lockdowns and vaccine mandates, with 24% saying they were angry about the current state of the pandemic, while 22% of those in Atlantic Canada felt most anxious about lifting restrictions.
Those over the age of 55 were more likely to say they were prudent about reopening, with 54% saying so, while 36% of those aged 18 to 34 said they were ready to lift safety measures.
Asked whether governments should lift all COVID-19 restrictions, 58% replied “no” but 32% said “yes” - up from 20% in January and marking the highest level of support among Canadian respondents since 26% last June.