VANCOUVER -- While Canada has recorded more than 50,000 positive cases of the novel coronavirus, a recent poll suggests many residents feel the federal government's response during the pandemic has been better than the response in the U.S.
According to a survey conducted by Research Co., 74 per cent of Canadians polled say they think their country has done a better job of managing the outbreak than their neighbour to the south.
And it doesn't seem like political leanings have anything to do with those opinions.
"Majorities of Canadians who voted for the Liberals (78 per cent), the New Democrats (also 78 per cent) and the Conservatives (69 per cent) in last year's federal election feel the same way," said Mario Canseco, president of Research Co., in a news release.
However, Canadians 55 and older seemed to be especially critical of the U.S. response, with 81 per cent thinking Canada's handled the pandemic better.
As of Wednesday morning, the U.S. had recorded more than 1.05 million positive cases of COVID-19 and more than 57,000 deaths, according to the Centre for Disease Control.
In B.C., about half of the residents polled also felt that Canada has handled the pandemic better than the U.K. and France, while about 30 per cent think the Canadian response is better than in Germany and Japan.
More than 60 per cent of B.C. residents think the government response at home has been better than in Spain and Italy.
Results from the survey were gathered through an online poll conducted between April 20 and April 22. The margin of error, which measures sample variability, is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
