In Wake of Omicron Variant and Rising COVID-19 Case Counts, Majority of Canadians & Americans Think Border Should Be Closed Again

From a Survey conducted by Leger, the largest Canadian-owned market research and analytics company in the country

Posted December 7^th, 2021 on Niagara At Large

Just when border crossings like the Peace Bridge between Fort Erie, Ontario and Buffalo, New York have re-opened again for non-essential traffic, should they be closed again in wake of rising COVID counts and the Omicron variant. file photo by Doug Draper

On November 26, 2021, the World Health Organization designated the Omicron variant of COVID-19 a variant of concern. Cases of the Omicron variant have been detected on all continents excluding Antarctica.

Given the spread of Omicron, we (Legers) asked Canadians and Americans a series of questions about their perspectives on this new variant.

This survey is conducted in collaboration with the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS) and published in the Canadian Press. This series of surveys is available on Leger’s website.

THE OMICRON VARIANT, Some Survey Findings –

• 65% of Canadians and 57% of Americans think the Canada/U.S. borders should be closed for a period of time due to the Omicron variant. 
• Given the spread of the Omicron variant, Canadians (78%) are more in favour than Americans (63%) of their government accelerating plans to introduce a booster/third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine for certain populations.
• 64% of Canadians and 49% of Americans think that COVID-19 vaccination should become mandatory for all residents of their country* given the Omicron variant.**Excluding infants/those with known medical restrictions.
• The proportion of Canadians and Americans who think the worst of the COVID-19 crisis is yet to come is trending upward again.

To find out more about Leger and its surveys, click on – https://leger360.com/

For a recent piece Niagara At Large posted on the Canada/U.S. border crossings re-opening, click on – https://niagaraatlarge.com/2021/10/16/at-long-last-border-bridges-will-re-open-to-fully-vaccinated-canadians-on-monday-november-8th/ .

NIAGARA AT LARGE Encourages You To Join The Conversation By Sharing Your Views On This Post In The Space Following The Bernie Sanders Quote Below.

“A Politician Thinks Of The Next Election. A Leader Thinks Of The Next Generation.” – Bernie Sanders