22 March 2023 :
(March 18, 2023) - Most Canadians support death penalty for murderers, poll shows
A new poll conducted by Research Co. has found that the majority of Canadians support reinstating the death penalty for murder.
According to the survey, 54 % of Canadians support relying on capital punishment on murder conviction, up 3 points since a similar survey conducted by the group in February 2022.
Research Co.’s data shows that Albertans are more likely in favor of the death penalty with the highest percentage of 62 %.
Support for capital punishment in Saskatchewan and Manitoba are also high at 60 % while 58 % of Ontario and B.C. residents feel the same way. Over 1/2 (55 %) of Atlantic Canada and 43 per cent of Quebec residents said they welcome the return of the death penalty.
The death penalty in Canada was abolished in 1976, but even before that, federal governments had regularly commuted death sentences to life imprisonment. The last executions in Canada took place in 1962.
The results are based on an online survey conducted from March 10 to March 12, 2023, among 1,000 Canadian adults. The results are considered accurate within +/- 3.1 % points.
