Violent crime and drug use are two big concerns for Canadians

Violent crime and drug problems have become two increasingly worrying issues for Canadians. At least that's what survey data released in June 2023 revealed about the country's growing concern over the two problems on both sides of the political aisle.

Canadians appeared to be just plain sick of how the government has been dealing with the biggest issues facing the nation according to a poll from Leger, Canada's largest market research and analytics company, that was commissioned by Postmedia, a right-leaning media conglomerate. 

Violent crimes like murders and assault should be a top priority of the government and its decision-makers when it comes to crime in Canada according to 55% of the survey’s respondents, followed by firearms possession at 41% and drug abuse at 37% Leger reported. 

When it came to drug use in Canada, a shocking 72% of survey respondents said they believed the drug crisis in their communities while one in three—or 31%—said that they considered the crisis in their community to be very serious. 

Canadian thinking on violent crime seems to be near universal with a strong majority of respondents agreeing that there were major problems. For example, 79% of people surveyed noted too many repeat offenders were being offered bail according to Leger. 

Most Canadians thought the justice system in the country was too lenient as well with 78% reporting that those who were eventually found guilty of committing a violent crime were given easier sentences than they should get for their criminal activity. 

An overwhelming majority of respondents (91%) agreed that violent criminals who were also repeat offenders should have their access bail “severely restricted or revoked.”

Even more interesting than the uniform thinking on server bail restrictions was the fact a majority of Canadians (73%) thought that such measures could lead to people challenging the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms. 

So it seemed based on the polling data that Canadians wanted their governments to take a stronger stance against crime in the country but also understood that the kinds of measures being proposed in the Leger survey could lead to issues down the road with Canada’s political structure. 

“In every single demographic category,” wrote Tristan Hopper of the National Post, a news organization that was part of Postmedia, at the time, “a clear majority of respondents said the Canadian justice system is too generous with bail and too lenient on violent criminals.”

Hopper also noted that the country’s public opinion on drug policy in Canada is at odds with its political leadership, which at both the federal and provincial levels are currently championing unpopular programs for everything from bail to addiction treatment. 

For example, when it came to drug addiction, Hopper explained that policymakers had largely removed law enforcement from the equation and added that the methodology at the time he wrote his article was to prioritize harm reduction through policies like providing safe injection sites. This hasn't changed much since June. 

“I think policymakers and decision-makers need to realize that there are some very strong sentiments being expressed on these issues,” Andrew Enns, the Executive Vice President of Leger, explained to Hopper. 

“We’re seeing large percentages of people saying things are getting worse,” the Leger executive added, though it should be noted again that Postmedia commissioned the Leger survey on violent crimes and drug problems in Canada in June, and National Post is owned by the media conglomerate. 

More than 1500 Canadians were polled between June 2nd to the 4th about their views on crime and drugs in the country by Leger for Postmedia and the data were weighted using census information from 2021 to ensure a representative sample Leger noted.