Canadian Public Opinion Polls on Afghanistan

[Stauds]

While Prime Minister Stephen Harper has mused about extending the mission if the House of Commons is agreeable, the poll shows 60 per cent of those surveyed don't believe Harper has done a good job of explaining Canada's role in Kandahar.

I hate it when people say this crap. If they really cared about the mission, and didn't think the government was doing a proper job of explaining things, why the hell wouldn't they go out and educate themselves??

 

[DarkFire]

I hate it when people say this crap. If they really cared about the mission, and didn't think the government was doing a proper job of explaining things, why the hell wouldn't they go out and educate themselves??

The simple answer is that those same people are to lazy to look up the information using the internet and unless it is spoon-feed to them on TV, their not going to bother.

 

[Kilroy]

I met a guy outside a Sears outlet, and he very politely stated that he feels the troops should not be in Afghanistan, as he said why should our tropps be over there getting killed. I asked him if he knew about the wells being dug in villages so the people would have access to fresh cleaner water for perhaps the first time. he no, he knew nothing of it. I asked him if he knew that new roads where being built so the country can move around easier. He said he knew nothing of it. I asked him if he knew that there are now MANY open and well operating hospitals, compard to about six barely running hospitals that used to exist. he said he knew nothing of it. I asked him if he knew that kids could now go to school, play with thier friends, and enjoy the simple pleasures of flying a kite, without the threat of being killed. He said he knew nothing of it. I asked him if he knew that womeon where now allowed to work, and to choose whether to wear the full burka or not, by thier own decision. I don't suppose i have to tell you what he said.  He asked me why he hasn't heard any of this on the news. I asked him, "what do you feel a news agency thinks is a higher "ratings" story, one about another Canadian soldier who died in Afghanistan, or one about a well that was dug in a village so people would have clean drinking water. He then hung his head down and shook it. he then came over to me, and shook my hand and thanked me for informing him. Then he asked how I knew of all this. When i told him I had just come back from spending six and a half months in Afghanistan helping to assure these things could comtinue to happen (I am a technician, not a front line soldier, but I do fix the equipment that allows the frontline soldiers to do thier jobs) He then proceeded to give me a hug and again thank me. This time there where tears in his eyes, and he was apologizing to me. He said he was sorry he was so misinformed, but all he knew was what he has heard on the news.

Don't get me wrong, I am not on a cross country crusade to convince everyone to support out troops being over in Afghanistan. Nothing would give me more pleasure than for out troops to no longer be needed there. This is a free country, and everyone is entitled to thier own opinion. I just would like to hel people make these opinions INFORMED opinions!

Guess I changed one guys mind.  :warstory:

 

[Flip]

I just would like to help people make these opinions INFORMED opinions!

Thankyou for your service Kilroy- and keep it up!

 

[ballz]

Well, looks like parliament is going to decide. This is going to be a nailbiter thats for sure.

http://news.sympatico.msn.ctv.ca/TopStories/ContentPosting.aspx?feedname=CTV-TOPSTORIES_V2&showbyline=True&newsitemid=CTVNews%2f20080205%2fdion_harper_AM_080205

Seems kinda flawed to me that Canadians voted for Harper and the Conservatives to lead the country, yet the Liberals will be making this decision. And I'm sure the party that's not in power has another agenda besides the mission when it comes to this vote.

 

[Eowyn]

Seems kinda flawed to me that Canadians voted for Harper and the Conservatives to lead the country, yet the Liberals will be making this decision. And I'm sure the party that's not in power has another agenda besides the mission when it comes to this vote.

Actually the majority (by seats) didn't vote for the Conservatives.  It is because of the minority government that the Liberals get to make the decision.

 

[ballz]

Actually the majority (by seats) didn't vote for the Conservatives.  It is because of the minority government that the Liberals get to make the decision.

Yes but you're having the party that has the 2nd amount of support from Canadians make the decision, and the party and "point of view" of most Canadians is being ignored. I've always been a fan of Representation by proportion and not by population anyway.

 

[tbennet]

I am a civilian. I've been visting this site for atleast two years even though I haven't posted much (I had a different account).

I believe that you can blame the media for the lack of knowledge. You only ever see bad news about the mission. I am 21 years old, and get so mad and upset when I see people saying that they don't believe that we should be in Afghanistan. I also get upset when people my age, or of any age take our freedom for granted. They don't understand that Freedom Isin't Free. In order for me to hear the GOOD news, I have to visit this site.


All of you men and women are doing a fine job. I promise you this. I will do MY part and try to inform as much people as possible about the mission, and the real definition of freedom. And I trust that if anyone knows if we should be there or not. It will be the men and women that are fighting for my freedom, that are away from their families, and that are helping the Afghan people have a better life.

My brother now knows that we aren't in Iraq.  ;D

Keep up the good work,

Troy.

 

[IN HOC SIGNO]

It bugs me that the media keeping saying that people don't understand why we are there and the Government has some "splaining to do." the mission was explained when we went there...there is plenty of stuff written about it and lots of info for the reading....it is the media that isn't bothering to get the story out.
I think the real story is that people don't want to believe in what has been said and written and therefore keep parroting this ridiculous line about the Government not explaining the mission.
I've seen a lot of stuff written and reported about the mission in the public domain and it's pretty clear to me.

 

[UCModFloppy]

I spend 1-2 hours per day off work reading stories from Afghanistan. I am 1 in 35 million Canadian Public, and support our role 100%. The polling organizations know what territories garner which responses and call those to fit their needs, IMO.

It took the death of Cpl.Chris Reid  to really open my eyes to the mission. I had interest in it before hand, but the event made it personal to me to know and understand. I just hope others of my civilian variety can be taught what we are there for without such a harsh lesson.

I think the Gov. sites are some of the most informative (not easily navigated though) sites from anywhere. There are many pages on what the PRTs, CIMIC, ISAF, and members are doing on a daily basis. I think it comes down more to media and the fast food culture. Most dont want to spend more than 10 minutes to see the news, sports, weather. I've had ppl spot my SoT hat and say they dont think we should be in Iraq,  ??? I say, "me either, its a good thing we aren't there". That happens alot here in Fort Mcmurray, but never happened in Truro. Which brings me circling back to my first Paragraph.

Ipsis Reed, J.D. Power and Assoc. I await your call, ask me what I think of poll irregularities, Taliban Jack, the fine work our Soldiers, brothers and sisters are doing in Afghanistan.

I feel better knowing $15 from my paycheque is going down range at a Taliban SoB, than going to a multimillionaire's company cause it cant market itself properly.

 

[Proud_Newfoundlander]

In response to the beginning of the topic dont forget that Quebec has a consistent record of being largey against Canadian combat missions.From the beginning of this mission at least 75% of Quebecs population has been opposed to the mission, and I feel a large proportion of the total number of Canadians opposed to the mission are from Quebec. In english Canada we've been in love with this whole peacekeeping business since Pearsons days, combined with knee jerk anti-americanism(especially since the 60's), and many large urban cneters which have have little military presence in their limits, you get negative public opinion.

So, lets look at this:

-75% of Quebec opposed
-Quebec makes up 25% of Canada

So, using proportions 18% of Canada, at least, is to be opposed to any Combat mission overseas. That leaves 50-60% of the rest of canada supporting a mission.


So, I dont want to sound like im singling out anybody, just pointing out people in a localized area are bounf to be opposed to a combat mission no matter how well it goes or what it is for. The rest of canada is relatively supportive despite urban centers having strong disaproval, possibly due to the reason I listed. I think some may have to do with an urban environment, but I dont fully know an urban environment so I wont comment on it

 

[T-Rex]

I have to agree with what most of my fellow soilders are saying most of the canadian public are to stupid to know what is needed to get the job done.  If we leave Afganistan we are going to be back in a few years agianst something that has metastas into something far more difficult to deal with.  Why are we listening to them anyways its not like the general public shares the risk. 

 

[Yrys]

I have to agree with what most of my fellow soilders are saying most of the canadian public are to stupid not interested enought to get informed to know what is needed to get the job done.

 

[Colin Parkinson]

Some tidbits
Agriculture

Since 85 percent of Afghans depend on the agricultural sector for survival, the U.S. assistance program emphasizes agricultural recovery and rural reconstruction. Last year, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported an 82 percent increase in production of wheat— Afghanistan 's staple grain—since the fall of the Taliban. The wheat harvest for 2004 is expected to roughly equal last year's total of 4.4 million metric tons (mt)— Afghanistan 's best harvest in more than two decades.

Afghan farmers achieved this abundant harvest in part due to 12,439 mt of fertilizer and 9,252 mt of seeds for drought resistant, higher yielding varieties of wheat. Both were supplied by the United States through private dealers to more than 100,000 farmers in 13 provinces during the fall 2002 planting.
To improve vital irrigation in this chronically dry country, the United States has rehabilitated more than 7,441 canals, underground irrigation tunnels, reservoirs, and dams by de-silting and cleaning waterways, repairing stone masonry, and building retaining walls.
Irrigation projects affecting 325,000 hectares are now nearly half complete, with 150,000 hectares already under irrigation.
Working with the Afghan government, the United States has rehabilitated 7,269 km of rural roads and completed more than 600 related road-reconstruction projects, including repair of retaining walls and culverts. This allows humanitarian supplies to reach the needy and helps the Afghans employed in the agricultural sector—more than 70 percent of the population—ship produce to markets and receive needed supplies.
The number of Afghans dependent on food aid dropped from 10 million to 6 million in 2002 and continued to drop in 2003 and 2004.

Source http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/nationalsecurity/rebuildingafghanistan.html

In case you think the Whitehouse is biased:

Afghanistan's wheat output to increase
       


As a sign of positive step towards agricultural recovery in the war-shattered Afghanistan, the country's wheat production is expected to increase this year, an official of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of United Nations said Monday.

"We expect output of wheat this year to reach about 4.4 million tones," the country's FAO representative director Serge Verniau told journalists at a press briefing here.

He said the production in comparison with 2005 is much better.

Afghanistan's output of wheat was around four million tones in 2005.

"The country will have deficit this year at roughly half million tones of cereals while 100,000 tones would be needed with food aid and 400,000 from commercial import," the official noted.

The increase in wheat production in Afghanistan has been seen after years of war and drought.

FAO would continue to support Afghans through the agriculture and livestock ministry to improve agricultural products in the country, as agriculture is the largest sector of Afghanistan's economy, he added.

There are 65 million hectares of land in Afghanistan, 30 million are rangeland for livestock and eight million are cultivated. Wheat accounts for 80 percent of Afghanistan's grain production, according to a press release of the FAO.

Source: Xinhua  http://english.people.com.cn/200605/16/eng20060516_266030.html

 

[The Bread Guy]

The latest from Angus Reid (.pdf permalink with full data).....

Canadians Still Oppose Afghan Mission Extension
Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research,  13 May 08

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in Canada believe the House of Commons should not have extended the country’s military mandate in Afghanistan until the end of 2011, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 54 per cent of respondents disagree with the decision.

When asked if the Canadian government should actively negotiate with the Taliban if this helps the peace efforts led by the elected Afghan government, 48 per cent of respondents reject the idea, while 37 per cent are open to it.

Afghanistan has been the main battleground in the war on terrorism. The conflict began in October 2001, after the Taliban regime refused to hand over Osama bin Laden, prime suspect in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked and crashed four airplanes on Sept. 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people.

At least 800 soldiers—including 82 Canadians—have died in the war on terrorism, either in support of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom or as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Canadians renewed the House of Commons in January 2006. The Conservative party—led by Stephen Harper—received 36.3 per cent of the vote, and secured 124 seats in the 308-member lower house. Harper leads a minority administration after more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party.

In May 2006, the House of Commons extended Canada’s mission in Afghanistan until February 2009. In March 2008, the House of Commons voted 198-77 to prolong the military deployment until the end of 2011. The Conservative and Liberal parties supported the motion, while the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Bloc Québécois opposed it.

Yesterday, Harper unveiled a 20-year, $30 billion U.S. program to renew the Canadian Forces, declaring, "If a country wants to be taken seriously by the rest of the world, it needs to have the capacity to act. It’s just that simple. (...) By investing in new military equipment and technologies, the Strategy will benefit Canada’s knowledge and technology industries, which will produce lucrative civilian commercial spin-offs."

Polling Data

As you may know, the House of Commons has authorized an extension of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan until the end of 2011, which is conditional on Canada coming up with unmanned aerial vehicles and transport helicopters, and NATO providing an additional 1,000 troops in the south. Do you agree or disagree with the decision to extend Canada’s mission in Afghanistan until the end of 2011?

                      May 2008    Mar. 2008

Agree                41%              37%

Disagree            54%              58%

Not sure              6%              5%

Some people have stated that officials from foreign nations should reach out to the Taliban if this helps the peace efforts led by the elected Afghan government. Would you agree or disagree with the Canadian government actively negotiating with the Taliban?

Agree        37%

Disagree    48%

Not sure      15%

Source: Angus Reid Strategies
Methodology: Online interviews with 1,006 Canadian adults, conducted on May 7 and May 8, 2008. Margin of error is 3.0 per cent.

 

[forcerecon85]

Interesting, they don't support the mission but don't want to negotiate.

 

[aesop081]

Interesting, they don't support the mission but don't want to negotiate.

They just dont want Canada to do the fighting. They much prefer to have their dirty job done by someone else.

 

[midget-boyd91]

What happened to the eighty-some odd approval that there was when the CF was first sent to Afghanistan? Have people forgotten about the 3 000 killed on 9/11 and decided to co-mingle Iraq and Afghanistan into one big war?

Can you imagine these same mind frames were in place in 1939?
"Sure, we'll fight the Nazis. Our commitment will be from September 1939 until December of 1941. After that, we'll continue to support the Allies, but our forces will have to be replaced by another nation."

Midget

 

[Richie]

I have to agree with what most of my fellow soilders are saying most of the canadian public are to stupid to know what is needed to get the job done.  If we leave Afganistan we are going to be back in a few years agianst something that has metastas into something far more difficult to deal with.  Why are we listening to them anyways its not like the general public shares the risk. 

I take it you're not trying to win the hearts and minds of the Canadian public with this post.  : I'm a member of the Canadian public and I keep abreast of what's happening in Afghanistan and also try to learn as much as I can about the history of that country. Polls can be skewed so many ways that they become meaningless and the Harper government doesn't seem to govern by meaningless polls.

I won't comment further except to say that prior to going to Afghanistan you should learn how to spell that country's name. Your English skills are about to metastasize into incoherence.

 

[George Wallace]

Can you imagine these same mind frames were in place in 1939?
"Sure, we'll fight the Nazis. Our commitment will be from September 1939 until December of 1941. After that, we'll continue to support the Allies, but our forces will have to be replaced by another nation."

Perhaps the French?  Oh!  They were otherwise occupied.