Sanity sweeps Canada! I almost cried when I read these numbers.
Dry those tears, all is not as it seems in lala land. Canadians are terrified we are going to get punished economically by the US for our stand and knees are wobbling. The basic reason for not entering the war is still supported I believe as per:.
.... "They are proud that Canada has taken an independent stand but anxious and concerned about the impact of that action."
....Canadians are clearly worried about the economic fallout of Mr. Chrétien's decision, despite assurances from the government that there will be none. About 61 per cent of respondents agreed that the decision will have "serious, negative economic consequences." Even in Quebec, where antiwar sentiment dominates, half the respondents expect to pay a price for their stand.
The threats of the US ambassador were heard:
...U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci fuelled Canadian concerns over Mr. Chrétien's stand this week when he said Americans are "disappointed and upset" over Canada's decision and warned vaguely of repercussions.
The government position still represents the majority in this CDN democracy:
....Over all, women were far more likely to support Mr. Chrétien's decision to stay out of the war — 66 per cent of women supported the move, versus 52 per cent of men.
...In the Ipsos-Reid poll, 59 per cent of respondents said they were glad Canada stayed out of the war, including 83 per cent of Quebeckers.
Regarding your highlighted "Approximately 47 per cent of respondents agreed Canada "turned our back" on the Americans, " that is subject to semantics. It could be interpreted as yes we turned our backs on the Americans for persuing a war that is not sanctioned by the world (UN) and/or we don't feel war was necessary.
Having said all of this, it will be interesting going forward to see the sentiment as it changes one way or the other. I'm inclined to believe that Cdn's won't embrace the war any more as it drags out and becomes messy as attempts are made to create a functioning country. I may be proven wrong.
What is unfortunate is that Americans perceive Canadas non support of this war as an expression of unfriedliness towards the US while in fact it is simply not agreeing with a neighbour on the need to go beat up on a third party. It is unreasonable to expect that a friend will go along with you anytime you decide to go beat on someone. If the party was found guilty in court and told to be arrested, perhaps we'd see fit to go help arrest them.
The argument that Canada and most other countries have turned their backs on the US in their hour of need doesn't wash either. The world didn't see Iraq as being the defining item of Americas moment of need. That moment was Afghanistan, it was sanctioned by world rules (UN) and we were there. |
