Majority of Canadians support return to mandatory masking indoors, survey shows

A majority of Canadians are in favour of a return to mask mandates in indoor settings if deemed necessary by public health units and government officials, new survey results show.

A national survey by Nanos Research concluded that 7 in 10 Canadians support (52 per cent) or somewhat support (17 per cent) a return to mandatory wearing of face masks indoors. In contrast, 22 per cent of those polled said they opposed a reinforced masking mandate.

Eight per cent of Canadian respondents said they somewhat opposed the move, while less than one per cent were unsure. Just over 1,000 Canadians participated in the Nanos Research survey, which polled respondents from Oct. 30 to Nov. 4.

On a provincial level, 71 per cent of Ontario respondents supported a mask mandate for indoor settings, while 27 per cent opposed it. British Columbia reported the most positive (72 per cent,) followed by Ontario, 71.3 per cent in the Atlantic, 65.3 per cent in Quebec and 62.9 per cent in the Prairies.

Nanos Research survey, 2022.

The results were made public after Ottawa’s chief of staff at a children’s hospital spoke to the city’s board of health this week about the inpouring of patients at her pediatric hospital and asked the public to resume masking to protect children.

In Toronto, the public health board passed a motion asking medical officer of health, Dr. Eileen de Villa, to “urgently explore all avenues toward re-issuing mask mandates, starting with schools.”

De Villa said Toronto Public Health (TPH) is currently following provincial guidelines — which do not require masks in most settings — but said the city could change course if the situation calls for it.

“As we have seen over the course of the past several years, this virus has thrown some curveballs our way, and we have to be prepared to respond in accordance with that,” she told the health board meeting on Tuesday.

Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. Kieran Moore, has said if COVID-19 starts affecting the ability to reduce the surgical backlog he would suggest the government make a recommendation on masking in specific indoor settings. If there are other effects, he would recommend reinstating mask mandates.

Dr. Moore acknowledged that he is constantly monitoring COVID-19 indicators, ICU occupancy and flu activity in weighing his decision on masks.

The University of Waterloo decided to reinforce a mask mandate for students and staff as of Wednesday. This includes wearing a face covering during lectures, seminars, teaching labs, tests, exams and all other forms of academic instruction, wherever it happens indoors.

The university said it decided to re-introduce masking requirements to protect people learning and working near others, particularly in large groups, “and to reduce disruption to the important end-of-term exam season.”

With files from The Canadian Press