A poll of Canadian values presented at the Manning Centre conference did surprise me, but here you go, these are the results:
On moral issues, Canadians are more socially conservative than most of us would be led to believe. 89% of respondents strongly agreed with the statement “nothing is more important than family.” 67% strongly agreed that, by definition, “marriage is between a man and a woman.” And 60% strongly agree that abortion is morally wrong.
At the same time, only 31% feel government should play a major role regulating individual behaviour and morality, and there is a pretty even split (46%:50%) on the role of government in preserving the moral fabric of society.
After everything was over at the conference, I went out with a family friend. I told him about the poll. He scoffed and immediately, and much to my embarrassment, took a poll of one by asking the waiter if he agreed that marriage should be between one man and one woman. To which the waiter replied, “No (pause) and if I did I wouldn’t tell you.”
But perhaps he would tell a pollster anonymously? Anyway, interesting results.