Canadians are increasingly embracing the concept of requiring young people to commit to a period of civilian service, a new poll suggests.
The poll conducted by Angus Reid found that at least 70 percent of Canadians support the idea of individuals aged 29 and younger completing one year of mandatory civilian service outside of the military. The fields Canadians favoured were civil protection, public health support, environmental support, and youth services.
The idea of mandatory civilian service is not a random one. It is a practice that has been adopted in Germany, France, Norway, and various other countries in recent years, the report from Angus Reid points out.
While mandatory military service received support from only 43 percent of those surveyed, the averages were much higher in the other fields.
Canadians were most in favour of mandatory service in public health support at 74 percent, followed by the environment at 73 percent, and youth services at 72 percent. Civil protection, which would include emergency preparedness or firefighting, was supported by 70 percent of those polled.
“What is perhaps most notable here are the views of those who, in this hypothetical, would be doing the work,” the report noted. “In all cases other than military service, 18- to 29-year-old Canadians are widely supportive of a compulsory obligation for people in their age range.”
In the youngest age range, more opposed mandatory military service than expressed support, but they were open to working in other fields. Women largely favoured environmental support, health services, and youth services, but were less keen about civil protection. Men, however, gravitated toward civil protection as well as environmental and youth services.
Canadians also agreed there would be a number of benefits to implementing such a practice.
“The biggest perceived boon would be to the personal development of young people,” the report noted. “Fewer, but still a firm majority, are bullish about the impact that this service would have on the quality of public services, with more people qualified to assist in health care, emergency response, and other areas.”
Eighty-four percent of those polled agreed some form of mandatory civilian service would improve the personal development of young adults, and 71 percent said the quality of public service would be enhanced.
While most Canadians didn’t favour the idea of mandatory military service, older Canadians were far more likely to note the benefits to military training for young people.
Sixty-eight percent of those 60 and older said the military would improve young people’s development, compared to only 16 percent of those in the 18 to 29 demographic.
Conservative voters were also more likely to favour mandatory military training with 60 percent saying it would benefit personal growth, compared to 47 percent of Bloc Québécois voters and 40 percent of Liberal voters. More NDP supporters surveyed were against compulsory military service than in favour.
The online survey was conducted from June 20 to 23 among a randomized sample of 1,619 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum.
