Most Sask. residents believe society has become more polarized compared to a year ago: survey
CBC
A strong majority of respondents in a new poll in Saskatchewan said society has become more polarized compared to a year ago.
The Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research (CHASR) at the University of Saskatchewan conducted the survey on divisiveness in partnership with CBC Saskatchewan, collecting data by phone from 400 residents across the province between Dec. 1, 2021 and Dec. 30, 2021.
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.90 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
According to the survey, 78.7 per cent of respondents believe that society has become more polarized. Just over 17 per cent said polarization is about the same, and around two per cent said society has become less polarized.
"It seems to be a very timely topic to ask," said CHASR director Jason Disano.
"We don't have any sort of historical or retrospective data to compare this to…. But what the data do indicate is that people are largely feeling that we are divided as a province. "
Survey participants were asked about five potentially divisive topics: the COVID-19 pandemic, fighting climate change, the energy sector, the federal election and increasing ethnic diversity.
In three out of the five categories, the majority of respondents said the issue has served to divide the people of Saskatchewan over the past year, with a fourth coming just shy of 50 per cent.
About 83 per cent agreed that the pandemic has been dividing people, and more than 70 per cent said the same about the federal election.
Disano said he was surprised to see 44 per cent of respondents say that increasing ethnic diversity has served to unite the Saskatchewan population.
"I was expecting that one to sort of fall more on the side of divisiveness as opposed to uniting folks," he said.
"But I was happy to see that one came out a bit more balanced."
Responses varied somewhat by demographic.
For example, younger survey participants (18 to 34) were more likely to believe that ethnic diversity has been uniting people (74 per cent), particularly compared to the 55 and older age group (32.8 per cent).
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