New Canada Poll Finds Citizens Opposed to Award for Abortion Practitioner
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
July 22, 2008
Ottawa, Canada (LifeNews.com) — A new poll of Canadian residents that is much more massive in scope than a previous one, finds a clear majority oppose abortion practitioner Henry Morgentaler getting the Order of Canada award. The KLRVU survey has a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of just 1.5 percent.
That’s because the poll included 13,324 respondents when the firm conducted it from July 17-21.
The random telephone poll of Canadian households founds 55.8% of Canadians oppose the awarding of the medal to the man who helped ushered in unlimited abortions in Canada paid for at taxpayer expense.
The poll found opposition to the award across the provinces.
Beginning with a wave on the east coast of Newfoundland, ebbing slightly in Quebec and then continuing with a surge in Ontario right to the west coast — the tide of opinion against awarding Morgentaler has risen, dramatically.
"Whatever side of the abortion debate you are on, many Canadians from all walks of life felt this appointment went way too far and offended too many," Jim Hughes, the national president of the Campaign Life Coalition, said.
"The mass media coverage of the Morgentaler award has given us the largest abortion debate this country has seen in twenty years, and Canadians when they are forced to think about abortion realize it is horrible," he added in a statement to LifeNews.com.
Opposition to awarding the abortion practitioner is highest in Nova Scotia (68%), Prince Edward Island (67%), Manitoba (66%) and Saskatchewan (65%).
Quebec saw the lowest numbers with 47 percent saying they oppose the award — still a surprisingly high number given the pro-abortion bent of residents there.
Looking at other provinces, 55 percent opposed the award in British Columbia, 64 percent in Alberta, 58 percent in Ontario, and 57 percent in the Northwest Territories and the Yukon.
"Clearly the waves of offended Canadians speaking out have had an impact," says Mary Ellen Douglas, another CLC official.
"When a former Lieutenant Governor speaks out and returns his ‘Snowflake’, disavowing himself from the Order, undoubtedly that is going to have an effect," she said.
On the heels of the controversial appointment, an Ipsos Reid poll conducted for the CanWest News Service found two-thirds of Canadians are supportive.
About 65 percent of those polled favor Morgentaler receiving the prestigious medal, which pro-life advocates have been returning saying it is now tainted.
Some 27 percent say they strongly support the honor while another 37 percent somewhat support it.
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