Measles surge boosts support for mandatory school vaccines: poll

Polling by Angus Reid shows support for mandatory childhood measles vaccination has jumped over the past year, yet one in five parents remain hesitant or opposed.

With measles making an alarming comeback across the country, more Canadians believe vaccines should be mandatory for kids in school, but a significant number of parents still aren’t convinced, according to a new poll.

Polling by Angus Reid, published Thursday, shows support for mandatory childhood measles vaccination has jumped over the past year, yet one in five parents remain hesitant or opposed.

While most provinces don’t require vaccines for school entry, Ontario and New Brunswick do mandate proof of immunization for kids attending school or daycare.

Nearly seven in 10 Canadian adults — and 60 per cent in Alberta — said kids should be required to get vaccinated to attend daycare or school, the poll found. That’s up from last year, when just 55 per cent of Canadians and 48 per cent of Albertans felt the same way.

These numbers line up with an Ipsos poll conducted for Global News in March 2024, which found seven in 10 Canadians believe all children should be required to get the measles vaccination unless they are prohibited for medical reasons, the poll found. And six in 10 believed children should be required to get the shot even if their parents personally object to vaccinations.

Among parents with kids under 12, 37 per cent believe vaccination should be the parents’ choice. And when it comes to those with children under 18, more than one in five fall into the hesitant (13 per cent) or outright opposed (nine per cent) category when it comes to following the recommended vaccine schedule.

Although 69 per cent of Canadians support mandatory childhood vaccination, the bad news is that this still falls short of the 95 per cent immunization rate needed to achieve herd immunity.

As of late May 2025, Canada is experiencing its most significant measles outbreak in over 25 years.