Canadians remain supportive of Ukraine after a year of war, but interest waning: poll

The Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News found 65 per cent of those surveyed are just as concerned about Ukraine's future as they were last February.

Canadians are still largely invested in Ukraine’s struggle to stop Russia’s invasion and are supportive of Canada’s efforts to help, but that support has dipped slightly since the war began a year ago, a new poll suggests.

The Ipsos poll, conducted exclusively for Global News and released on the one-year anniversary of the invasion, found 65 per cent of those surveyed are just as concerned about Ukraine’s future as they were last February.

But the number of Canadians who said they closely follow news on the war has dipped from 74 per cent in 2022 to 58 per cent now, while those who said the war is none of Canada’s business increased from 20 per cent to 25 per cent.

“It’s not that people have moved away from supporting Ukraine with emphatic opinions. It’s more just a drift,” said Darrell Bricker, CEO of public affairs.

Ipsos surveyed 1,350 Canadian adults in mid-February for the poll.

The results are consistent with numbers seen earlier this year in a worldwide poll that surveyed 28 countries on their support of the Ukraine war, which found Canada remained among the most supportive countries one year later.

That poll found Canada was one of only three countries where a majority did not say their government can no longer afford to financially support Ukraine “given the current economic crisis” back home.

However, while the number who agreed with that statement in Friday’s poll was about the same, at 48 per cent, that’s up three points from when Canadians were asked the same question in February 2022.