Unvaccinated Canadians Think Life Would Be Better in the US, Survey Finds

Unvaccinated Canadians Think Life Would Be Better in the US, Survey Finds
A car heads into the U.S. from Canada at the Peace Arch border crossing in Blaine, Wash., on June 8, 2021. (Elaine Thompson/AP Photo)
Rachel Emmanuel
8/24/2022
Updated:
8/24/2022
0:00

Unvaccinated Canadians think they would enjoy life more if they lived in the United States, according to a new survey.

Abacus Data surveyed 1,500 Canadian adults from July 11 to 17, 2022. While just one in every ten Canadians believe life overall would be better in the U.S., that number spikes among the unvaccinated. 

Among this category, 36 percent say they would enjoy life more in America compared to 24 percent who preferred Canada. Another 40 percent found no difference.

Men under 45 were also more likely to say they believe life is better in America—42 percent compared to 30 percent who prefer Canada. When compared with the national average, 38 percent of respondents believe the enjoyment of life is higher in Canada while 23 percent say enjoyment is higher in the U.S.

More unvaccinated Canadians also thought their financial well-being would be better in the U.S.

Of the respondents, 33 percent thought their pocketbook would fare better in America, compared to 29 percent who said their financial well-being was better at home. Another 38 percent said there was no difference.

Canadians who chose not to be vaccinated against COVID-19 are still required to quarantine for 14 days upon returning from international travel and there are many countries, like the U.S., that won’t accept unvaccinated air travellers from Canada. Meanwhile, many workplaces still require employees to be inoculated against COVID-19.

Abacus also found that unvaccinated Canadians think they have better healthcare in Canada than they would in the U.S.—22 percent compared to 46 percent.

Among the national average, 67 percent believe healthcare is better in Canada, compared to 17 percent who say healthcare would be better in the U.S., and 16 percent who say there’s no difference.

Most Canadians—vaccinated or not—think they’re safer in Canada. Of all respondents, 74 percent say they’re safer in Canada compared to eight percent who believe the U.S. is safer, and 18 percent who said there was no difference.

Just three percent of unvaccinated Canadians believe they would be safer in the U.S., while 50 percent believe they’re safer from violence in Canada. Another 47 percent said there’s no difference.

Abacus surveyed a random sample of panelists from a set of partner panels based on the Lucid exchange platform. The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is plus or minus 2.6 percent, 19 times out of 20.