Quebecers least likely in Canada to continue wearing masks: poll

The Government of Quebec has yet to announce a date for removing its face mask mandate but it seems that many citizens won’t be continuing to wear a face covering once it’s no longer required.

According to a new study from the Angus Reid Institute, 38% of Quebecers polled says they will not continue wearing a face mask indoors around strangers — the lowest in the country.

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As COVID-19 restrictions begin to wind down across the country, Angus Reid took a look at how Canadians feel about the lifting of many public health measures.

It doesn’t come as a surprise that Canadians are divided about the removal of COVID-19 restrictions, with 36% saying that removal is happening too quickly, 38% thinking it’s happening at the right pace, and 22% who say that this has happened too slowly.

“Significant regional differences define the overall findings, as people in various parts of the country react to the situation where they live and gauge the changes through the lenses of their own realities,” reads the study.

Par with the rest of the country, 62% of Quebecers said they will continue to wash their hands in addition to sanitize them once restrictions are lifted and a Canada-low 27% of Quebec citizens said they will refrain from travelling abroad.

Angus Reid Institute

In the remaining Canadian provinces, at least 50% of people polled said that they would continue masking, with Atlantic Canada topping the list at 63%.

According to the study, women are more likely than men to stick to pandemic-era habits in the absence of restrictions, along with older Canadians (more so than younger ones of the same gender). As well, the Angus Reid Institute says that political views appear to play a part in the likelihood of people continuing to take precautions after public health orders are lifted.

“Past Liberal voters are the most likely to continue sanitizing, distancing, masking and avoiding travel, followed closely by past NDP voters,” reads the report. Of those who voted Conservative in the last federal election, 57% say they’ll keep sanitizing their hands, and more than half are not likely to continue other measures.

According to the study, an overwhelming majority of past PPC voters say it’s unlikely they’ll be keeping up any of these pandemic practices.

At the beginning of March, Premier François Legault announced that all public places in Quebec would lift face mask requirements by “mid-April at the latest.”

Last week, Interim Director of Public Health Dr. Luc Boileau said the government is considering lifting the mask mandates sooner, citing the “end of March” as a possibility.

As more public health measures are rescinded, recent reports show that the federal government plans to drop pre-arrival COVID-19 testing for travellers entering the country by land or air. This follows the removal of the PCR pre-arrival test requirement last month.

Will you be continuing to wear a face mask or carrying on with other public health measures as restrictions lift across the country?

With files from Daily Hive’s Elle McLean