VANCOUVER -- A new poll has found nearly half of all Canadians visited with family and friends over the holidays, against the advice of health officials.

The survey was conducted online by Leger between Dec. 30, 2020 and Jan. 3, 2021. It asked a number of COVID-19 related questions to 1,506 Canadians and 1,003 Americans. 

On the question of visitations over the winter holiday break, the survey found 52 per cent of Canadians never saw people outside of the home, but 48 per cent answered either “rarely,” “occasionally” or “often.”

It appears British Columbians were more likely to stick with their household, by comparison. The poll found 61 per cent of people that live in the province never visited with family and friends outside the home, while 40 per cent said they did.

A public health order is still in place for B.C. requiring people to only socialize with members of their own household unless they live alone, in which case they are allowed to create a bubble of up to two people. The order was put in place Dec. 4, 2020 and is in effect until midnight on Jan. 8. 

The survey also found a stark difference in attitudes toward the COVID-19 vaccines between Canada and the United States. Seventy-one per cent of Canadians who took the poll said they intended to get the vaccine, that’s compared to 53 per cent of Americans. 

The survey’s margin of error for Canadian responses is plus or minus 2.53 per cent, 19 times out of 20, and plus or minus 3.09 per cent, 19 times out of 20, for the U.S. responses.