- Well, there's no question, the Emergencies Act
is controversial and highly political.
But according to a recent poll, 66% of Canadians
support Prime Minister Trudeau's decision to invoke it.
But with that number, is there more than meets the eye?
Joining us now with more on how Canadians are feeling,
let's bring in John Wright, Executive Vice President
of Maru Public Opinion.
John, great to see you again.
JOHN WRIGHT: Good morning, Anthony.
And great to be with you.
- So let's get down to the--
the numbers here.
66% of Canadians support it.
Break that down a little bit further for us.
JOHN WRIGHT: Well, what we find in it is that while they may be
supporting it at that majority, for the most part,
they're doing it because it's propelled
by anger against the truckers being there.
So Mr. Trudeau does get support for this.
But there's a view in the country
that the institutions, the police, the politicians,
everybody who's been involved in this for the last 3
and 1/2 to 4 weeks have not been able to solve this whatsoever.
We have 7 in 10 people across the country
wanting to have those protesters removed immediately.
You get 82% say that, you know, it's gone on way too long,
that they should be removed.
And even if force is used and something
happens, that in fact, it's OK.
So the whole point of that we find in the polling nowadays
is that institutionally it seems that it's broken down,
that the country itself has broken down,
that there's no ability to act.
And so that's mainly what's fueling
the support for the act.
But it's also a general feeling in the country this morning
as the police move into Ottawa that something's
terribly broken.
And they're concerned for the future.
- It's interesting, as well, support for the implementation
of the act doesn't necessarily equate
to a support with the prime minister, does it?
JOHN WRIGHT: No, it doesn't.
And secondly, we have to remember
that Mr. and Mrs. Front Porch don't
know what the act is about.
I mean, we gave a description of what was going on in this,
and we got the response that we did.
But even people who are close to it, you know,
are not exactly sure how it should be implemented
or whether it should.
So it's an artifact.
It's something that people believe
should be done if it can, in fact, speed up the situation.
The prime minister's numbers in this are terrible.
Only about 17%, in fact, believe that he's done as much as he
can to move things forward.
And with the backdrop of Parliament Hill for the last 3
and 1/2 weeks, I mean, the sentiment
is that these truckers are on his front lawn.
And he lives there in terms of being in his office.
He hasn't been able to move them whatsoever.
So his numbers are not looking very good at all.
All politicians who are close to this
have a chance to face some kind of backlash,
depending upon where they are in the country.
But in the zones where they are right now, let's say in the 905
region of Toronto, where it's very tight,
this is going to become very, very important in terms
of defining the character of the prime minister and the party
that he represents.
- Are you surprised by this number?
50% of Canadians are proud of the way police
have handled the situation.
You alluded to this.
And there are two ways of looking at it.
Some people will say it's only 50%,
which is not a ringing endorsement, by any means.
JOHN WRIGHT: Well, it isn't a ringing endorsement.
It depends on where you are in the country.
It's less so in the province of Ontario, clearly.
Again, I think most people would believe that the police are
put in a difficult situation.
You know, they don't want to use force.
In fact, one could say that the Windsor Bridge was a victory
because they were able to clear it without having
a major confrontation.
On the other hand, you know, you see
pictures in Ottawa of officers dancing with the protesters.
And you have this sense that nothing's
been able to be unbottled, that we've
reached the stage in the last 24 hours
where the new chief or interim or whatever you want
to call him has stepped to the forefront and said,
we're moving in.
We have a plan.
We're going to do this.
Most Canadians believe that that should have been
done probably within the first week of the truckers
being there.
So it is-- you're absolutely right, Anthony.
It's a double-edged sword.
The 50-50 deal feels like a person
when they look at the situation and say, you know what?
On one hand, yes; on the other hand, absolutely not.
- And there's so many questions, right?
Because questions about leadership on all levels,
whether it be police, whether it be city, provincial,
or federal government of it-- of the protest taking
root there, but also questions of a lot of these policies
going into it.
So it leaves a very divided nation, no question about it.
Here's a number that I find interesting,
certainly alarming to a lot of people that 32% of Canadians
are partial, at least, to taking up violent actions
when it comes to clearing up this protest.
What do you make of that?
JOHN WRIGHT: Well, it's not only clearing up this protest.
It's overall to protect their own value system
and that they're prepared to go that extra distance.
Listen, if you get into the detailed tables of this,
you find that 12%, in fact, are very,
very committed to that idea.
You could say, well, it's only 12% of the country.
That's 4 million people who embrace the view that in order
to protect their--
their Canadian values, however you
want to define that, to protect their Canadian values,
they're willing to go that extra distance.
We see more of a militant circumstance in this country
not just with truckers who are there.
But we have instances of out in British Columbia
where there has been some terrorism in the last 24 hours,
you know.
from the person who's involved in the environment
and want to save it from gas being
imported into certain parts of the country there.
It's not called terrorism.
It's called protecting the environment.
Not everybody's going to go in that direction, clearly.
But-- but what it signals, Anthony, I think,
is a firmness among what we're seeing in Ottawa.
There are a group of people who, in fact, believe very,
very strongly in what they are doing
and are committed to doing it.
And the concern that followed up in the poll
is that there is a real view in the country
that these trucks could be weaponized,
in the sense that this may be the new norm of protest.
- John, I got to jump in there.
We are up against the clock.
But we appreciate your time and your insight, as always.
John Wright, with Maru Public Opinion.
Thank you, sir.
JOHN WRIGHT: Thank you so much.