Most Canadians oppose anti-Israel protest encampments at universities

Article content

For more than a month, anti-Israel protesters have established themselves on university campuses across Canada, but less than one-fifth of Canadians support them, according to a new national poll.

The poll, conducted by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies, shows that these protesters have the support of just 19 per cent of Canadians, although 21 per cent of people in metro Toronto and 25 per cent in greater Vancouver support the protesters’ aims. The support is dwarfed, however, by the 48 per cent of Canadians who oppose the encampments (including 45 per cent in Toronto and 34 per cent in greater Vancouver). Montrealers, at 49 per cent, are the most vehemently opposed.

Article content

Article content

Robert Brym, an emeritus professor at the University of Toronto who helped craft the poll questions, said the low levels of support — and high levels of opposition — aren’t surprising.

“They’re making a lot of noise and upsetting a lot of people. But we have to recognize that it’s only a relatively small minority of the population that’s involved in this stuff,” Brym said in an interview.

In fact, the above figures only account for those who have actually heard of the protests. Fully 16 per cent of Canadians hadn’t even heard about the encampments.

The first anti-Israel encampment began at McGill University in late April, following similar protest efforts in the United States. McGill was quickly followed by multiple other universities, including the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto and the University of Alberta.

The protesters are demanding that universities cut ties with Israel, end all arrangements with Israeli universities and divest from companies supplying arms to Israel or profiting from the deadly war with Hamas. (Although it’s unclear if the universities actually have such investments.)

Article content

Article content

The encampments have sparked controversy with anti-Israel chants such as, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which many say advocates for the eradication of Jews, and signs declaring, “This is the intifada,” and “Glory to all martyrs.” Jewish people have also reportedly been turned away from the camps.  

According to the poll, support for the encampments is highest among younger Canadians, but a majority are still against them. Thirty per cent of those between the ages of 18 and 24 support them (compared to 33 per cent opposed), with a steady decline as age increases. For those aged 25 to 34, it’s 28 per cent in favour to 37 per cent opposed. Support drops to 18 per cent for those aged 45 to 54. Just 10 per cent of those polled over the age of 75 support the protest encampments (compared to 66 per cent opposed). This, too, Brym did not find surprising. The oldest Canadians might remember the founding of Israel in 1948 or the Six-Day War, he said.

“It was viewed as a heroic struggle to form the State of Israel. And after the Holocaust, it was viewed widely as absolutely necessary for the security of the Jewish population of the world,” Brym said.

Article content

Later generations may remember the Oslo Accords when both sides “seemed reasonable and capable of compromise.”

“Younger people only remember the (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu years, in which the government’s becoming increasingly right wing,” said Brym. “I mean, there’s a lot more to be upset about now than there was 20 years ago or 50 years ago about Israel, and younger people are more exposed to that.”

He also said many young people have been misinformed about the history of the region, which may be influencing their views. “So there’s the oversimplified things they’ve been taught and it’s also the era in which they’ve been brought up,” Brym said.

Administrators have struggled to dislodge the encampments, despite arguing that many of the protesters are not in fact students, are trespassing on university grounds and that encampments have been breeding grounds for antisemitism.

In Alberta, police cracked down mere hours after protesters set up at the University of Alberta and the University of Calgary, using tear gas and clad in riot gear. The intense response ended the protests on campus, but was criticized. Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s government has called in the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team, which investigates police misconduct, to evaluate the response of Edmonton and Calgary police. Staff and students at the University of Alberta are demanding an independent investigation and further protests have been inspired by the police response, including one that was staged within Edmonton city hall.

Article content

In other instances, administrators have agreed to meet protester demands. At Ontario Tech University, in Oshawa, Ont., school administrators ended the protest encampment by agreeing to publish a report on its investments and other holdings in the fall and will fund three scholarships for Palestinians who’ve fled Gaza. McGill has made a similar offer, although with far less success than in Oshawa. Similarly, the University of Victoria has agreed to some requests made by protesters — such as sharing information about investments — but has declined others, such as boycotting Israeli universities, citing academic freedom.

On Friday, the University of Toronto issued a trespass notice and vowed to take “all necessary legal steps” if the protesters do not pack up by Monday morning.

Support for the protests varies by political affiliation: 59 per cent of those who consider themselves left wing support the encampments, though 27 per cent still say they’re opposed. Just five per cent of those who consider themselves right wing support the protesters and 13 per cent who put themselves in the political centre support the university encampments. For those in the centre, it’s 47 per cent opposed and only 13 per cent support the encampments.

Article content

French-speaking Canadians are also more likely to oppose the encampments (52 per cent) than those who have English as their mother tongue (48 per cent) or another language (43 per cent). But those who listed other languages as the mother tongue are also the least likely to support the protests (16 per cent). Support is 18 per cent for French speakers and 20 per cent for English speakers.

There are modest gender divides as well: 52 per cent of men oppose the encampments, compared to 44 per cent of women. “Women tend to lean a little more left than men do,” said Brym.

The polling was done between May 17 and 20 with a sample of 1,519 Canadians via an online panel. A probability sample of that size would have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent 19 times out of 20.

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.

Article content