Canadians split on PSAC strike — but most aren’t paying attention: poll

As the federal public service strike is into its second week, a new poll has found that Canadians are divided between the union and the federal government.

Ipsos, on behalf of Global News, polled 1,000 Canadians between April 21 and 24 and found that 38 per cent of Canadians are either strongly (16 per cent) or somewhat (22 per cent) on the side of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC).

Meanwhile, 28 per cent said they are either strongly (10 per cent) or somewhat (18 per cent) on the side of the government. Thirty-four per cent said they don’t know enough to say either way, and 47 per cent said they don’t know enough to say who is being the most fair. “I think a lot of Canadians aren’t paying a ton of attention to the strike at this point,” Sean Simpson, a senior VP at Ipsos, told Global News. “They’re dialed out.” Given it is only a week into the strike, Simpson said not a lot of people have a vested interest yet in either side, but there is slightly more sympathy for the union — at least, for demands that don’t require a lot of money.

Despite the higher support for PSAC, 54 per cent of respondents said that Canada cannot afford to give public servants a raise of 4.5 per cent a year right now, which is a key demand of the union.