Canadians are worried about a broader European or world war

Toronto, March 30, 2022

Canadians are extremely concerned about the conflict with Russia escalating into a broader European or world war.

This is the most recent release from our Modalis public opinion research panel. Modalis is made up of real respondents drawn randomly from the Canadian population. These latest results are based on a sample of over 1,200 Canadians with an actual margin of error of +/- 2.8 per cent at a 95% confidence interval. The survey was conducted between March 1 and 18, 2022.


Concerns about a broader war run high.

Virtually all Canadians (95%) are at least moderately concerned about escalation, while fully 6 in 10 are highly concerned.

These concerns are generally consistent across the Canadian population, although they are much higher among women than men (69% vs. 49% highly concerned, respectively) and those who follow TV news on a daily basis vs. those who do not watch TV news (also 69% vs. 49%, respectively).


Concerns about a wider war in Europe are higher than concerns about climate change.

Situated within a broader array of concerns, escalation of the conflict with Russia runs equally with the top concern facing Canadians today – inflation. Climate change – a longstanding concern for Canadians – generates significantly lower concern with nearly 1 in 5 unconcerned. The unvaccinated (also a longstanding concern, albeit more recent) is seen as relatively minor.


Despite these concerns, Canadians are curiously bellicose about intervening.

Remarkably, a solid majority of Canadians support Canadian intervention in the conflict – something that would signal a significant escalation in the conflict.

Were this conflict to escalate to a broader theatre of war, support for intervention could wane given the broad level of concern.  Would escalating concerns about a broader conflict temper Canadians’ support for military involvement were things to worsen? There is a small but not insignificant level of opposition at this time.