A national survey conducted by the University of Saskatchewan’s (USask) Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research (CHASR) shows more than a third of Canadians don’t trust parents to keep their children home from school if they develop COVID-19 symptoms.

USask researchers received responses from 1,000 Canadian adults 18 years and older. They were contacted between September 3 and September 28 by phone.

Researchers also discovered that a majority support public health guidelines such as requirements for masking in indoor public spaces and restrictions on social gatherings as well as mass gatherings.

There were also variations in responses from Canada’s regions to public health measures, as well as differences between men and women on such concerns as the spread of the pandemic in K-12 schools and on the possibility that their child would get very sick or hospitalized with COVID-19.

Among those who responded to the survey, 89 per cent said they were vaccinated; Quebec and the Prairie provinces (Manitoba, Alberta and Saskatchewan) are less likely than other regions to support requiring students and staff to wear masks inside schools or limiting the size of social gatherings; Ontario and Prairie respondents are less trusting of parents to keep kids with COVID-19 symptoms out of school than British Columbians or Quebecers; and B.C. and Prairie residents are less likely to think COVID-positive people should be required to isolate themselves.

CHASR Director Jason Disano says, “The overall national numbers on support for public health measure are driven largely by Central Canada and Atlantic Canada. Saskatchewan and Alberta actually bring those numbers down somewhat.”

Other highlights:

Vaccinated persons were more likely support most public health measures.
21 per cent of the respondents had children in school. Of them, 89 per cent were vaccinated. Unsurprisingly, their children were more likely to be vaccinated, as well.
Women are more supportive of measures such as indoor masking, limiting the number of persons allowed in businesses, and restricting the size of social gatherings and mass gatherings.
Unvaccinated people were more trusting of parents to keep COVID-symptomatic children at home from school, while younger respondents (under age 55) were less likely to be as trusting.
Those over age 55 were far more concerned than younger respondents about the spread of COVID-19 in schools in their area, and at post-secondary institutions.
Quebec and Ontario parents (78 and 64 per cent) were confident of COVID-19 safeguards enacted by schools, compared to those in Atlantic Canada, B.C. and the Prairies (51 per cent or below).

The results of the survey yield a margin of error of +/- 3.1 per cent nationally (19 times out of 20, meaning the results can be considered reliable 95 per cent of the time). Results broken down by region have a higher margin of error because of the smaller number of respondents from each region.