
Gay marriage (a.k.a. same-sex
marriage, ssm, & marriage equality)
Canadian public opinion polls during
2003-SEP to DEC, less than two years
before
parliament legalized gay marriage.
SES-Research released data from a ten-day poll of 1,000 Canadian adults. It was held about
three months after same-sex marriages became available in Ontario. A slight plurality favored marriage equality. The specific
question asked was:
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"As you may know, there will be a vote in the House of
Commons to legalize same-sex marriages. This would give gay and lesbian couples
the same legal recognition as heterosexual couples. that is, couples made up of
a man and a woman.
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Some people think that same-sex couples should be allowed
to be legally married and be recognized like couples made up of a man and a
woman.
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Other people think that only marriages between a man and
a woman should be legally recognized.
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Which of these two opinions, if either, best reflect your
views?" |
Half of the subjects were asked the above question; the other
half was asked the question with the sentences in bold interchanged.
They found that:
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47%
support SSM; |
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44% are opposed; |
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9% were unsure. |

Sponsored link There were the expected age split:
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60% of Canadian adults under 30 supported SSM
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32% of those over 60 supported SSM |
The greatest gap in opinion was found between church goers and
others:
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58% of Canadian adults who said they never attend religious
services support SSM
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24% of those who say they attend service weekly support SSM |
As expected, support was highest in Quebec and British Columbia
(53%) and lowest in Alberta (28%). There is a large percentage of Roman
Catholics in Quebec, of secularists and followers of minority religions in
British Columbia, and Evangelicals in Alberta.
Of particular note is the finding that:
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60% of those who oppose SSM would vote against their MP in the
next election if he is for SSM
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37% of those who support SSM would vote against their MP if he
opposed SSM |
It is this kind of data that makes legislators very nervous
about promoting equal rights for gays and lesbians and bisexuals including
the right to marry. The margin of error is ~+mn~3.1 percentage points. 1
2003-SEP: A Centre for Research
and Information on Canada poll:Environics Research Group interviewed 1,500 adult Canadians
for CRIC. The margin of error is ~+mn~2.5 percentage points.  | 48%% of Canadians agree that same-sex couples should be
allowed to marry.
|  | 47% feel that marriage should be prohibited.
|  | 5% are undecided or gave no response. 3
|  | As expected:  | Age is a major factor:
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63% of those aged 18 to 35
support legalizing SSM. This drops to: |
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51% for those 35 to 44; |
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48% for those 45 to 54, |
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38% for those 55 to 64 and |
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23% for those 65 and older |
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Sponsored link:
2003-DEC: Compas Inc.They asked each of the 1,000 subjects whether they:
"support
or oppose keeping the definition of marriage as a union of one woman and one
man to the exclusion of all others? … Do you strongly or somewhat
[support/oppose] this definition?"
Results were:
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48% strongly support retaining the current definition of
marriage. |
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15% somewhat support. |
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13% somewhat oppose. |
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18% strongly oppose. |
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6% didn't know or no response. |
They gave the subjects three options concerning same-sex
relationships:
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30% don't recognize them at all. |
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37% recognize them as civil unions, not as marriages. |
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31% allow same-sex couples to marry. |
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2% don't know or no response. |
They asked the subjects whether religious institutions
should speak out on marriage laws:
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49% said they should. |
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48% said they shouldn't. |
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3% didn't know or no response. |
The margin of error is ~+mn~3.1 percentage points. 4 Related essays in this web site include:
References:
- "Political Crossfire -- Legalizing Same-sex Marriages; Generation and
faith divide Canadians," SES-Research, 2003-SEP-7, at: http://www.sesresearch.com/ **
- Maragaret Philip, "Support
for same-sex marriage still split. Though level of backing hasn't
changed, debate heats up on use of word 'marriage'," Globe and Mail,
2004-OCT-7. See: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/
- "Canadians Reject Ban
on Religious Symbols or Clothes in Schools Majority Sees Racial or
Religious Background of Party Leaders as Irrelevant," CRIC,
2004-JUL-1, at: http://www.cric.ca/ **
- "Compas' twice yearly
syndicated study of where Canadians stand on the ethical, moral, and
value issues of the day," Compas, 2003-DEC, at: http://www.compas.ca/ **
** These
are PDF files. Copyright © 1996 to 2016 by Ontario
Consultants on Religious Tolerance
Originally published: 1996-SEP-25
Latest update: 2016-JUL-20
Author: B.A. Robinson
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