Both Canadians and Americans feel that their governments are ignoring the environment, a recent Angus Reid poll has found. A majority of Canadian (66 per cent) and American (53 per cent) respondents feel that their federal governments are paying too little attention to the environment. A total of 40 per cent of Britons feel the same way.

Most Canadians (80 per cent) and Americans (72 per cent) place the pollution of rivers, lakes and reservoirs as their biggest environmental concern, while deforestation and the clearing of naturally occurring forests ranks the highest for Britons (67 per cent).

The Queen’s visit has improved support for the monarchy, a recent Angus Reid poll has found. In the survey of 1,022 Canadian adults, 36 per cent (up three per cent from a similar poll in May) are in favour of remaining a monarchy, while 30 per cent (down six per cent) would like to have an elected head of state.

Despite all the hype leading up to last month’s G8 and G20 summits, few Canadians, Americans and Britons paid attention to what their respective countries have promised as a result. A recent Angus Reid poll has found that only 23 per cent of Canadians followed the results “very closely” or “moderately closely”, along with 20 per cent of Americans and 19 per cent of Britons. It’s interesting to note, however, that over half of Canadians (52 per cent) followed the stories relating to the G8/G20 demonstrations in Toronto, along with 21 per cent of Americans and 16 per cent of Britons.

Meanwhile, another poll has found that Canadians want the federal government to pay for the damage made during the G20 demonstrations. An Angus Reid poll of 1,003 Canadian adults reported that 80 per cent of Canadians (and 90 per cent of Torontonians) feel the Canadian government should compensate businesses that were damaged or forced to close during the G20 summit. Additionally, 66 per cent of Canadians (and 73 per cent of Torontonians) believe that the police were justified in responding the way they did during the demonstrations.

When it comes to the origin of the human race, Canadians and Britons tend to have differing opinions than Americans, a recent Angus Reid poll has found. The majority of Canadians (61 per cent) and Britons (68 per cent) believe in evolution, while 47 per cent of Americans believe that God created human beings in their present form.

The majority of Canadians are resistant to the recent proposal to change or amend the name of Stanley Park in Vancouver, an Angus Reid poll has revealed. It has been proposed that the name of the park be changed to Xwayxway (pronounced “kwhy-kway”), which was the name of an Aboriginal village that was located inside what is now Stanley Park. Of the 1,009 Canadian adults polled, 61 per cent (and 73 per cent of British Columbians) believe that Stanley Park should keep its name, 23 per cent think the two names should be paired together and six per cent believe the name should be changed to Xwayxway.

Canadians want the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to release the names of politicians who are supposedly influenced by foreign governments, an Angus Reid poll has found. Over two-thirds of the 1,009 Canadians surveyed (67 per cent) feel that the names should be made public, after claims made by CSIS Director Richard Fadden that at least two provincial cabinet ministers and several BC municipal politicians “are under at leas tthe general influence of a foreign government.”

Optimism in the Canadian economy has gone down recently, a Nanos poll has found. When asked whether they think the economy will become stronger, weaker or have no change in the next six months, 39.4 per cent (down 4.5 per cent from a recent poll) of the 1,008 Canadian adults surveyed responded that they felt it would get stronger, 15.5 per cent (up 1.5 per cent) felt it would get weaker and 40.9 per cent (up 2.8 per cent) felt that there would be no change.

The Conservative Party is still holding on to the top spot in federal politics, according to Angus Reid’s recent poll on voting intentions. Of the 2,031 Canadian adults polled, 36 per cent give their support to the Conservatives, while 27 per cent support the Liberal Party. Third place goes to the New Democratic Party (20 per cent support), followed by the Bloc Québécois (10 per cent) and the Green Party (seven per cent).

Canadians are proud of a lot of aspects of our nation, Angus Reid’s annual Canada Day poll has found. Our flag received the highest honours on the pride list, with 86 per cent of the 1,009 respondents saying that they are “very proud” or “moderately proud” of it. Hockey and the Canadian Armed Forces are also sources of pride, with 71 per cent and 80 per cent respectively. The Canadian economy (62 per cent), multiculturalism (61 per cent), the state of democracy in Canada (57 per cent), bilingualism (52 per cent), Aboriginal culture (51 per cent) and our health care system (50 per cent) are also listed as things Canadians are proud of.

Meanwhile, confidence in our economy has fallen for the first time this year, an Angus Reid poll has found. Of the 1,009 Canadian adults surveyed, 51 per cent think Canada’s economic conditions are good, a decrease of seven per cent from a similar poll released in May. Additionally, the majority of respondents (51 per cent) feel the economy will remain the same in the next six months, 28 per cent feel it will improve and 13 per cent believe it will decline.

Canadians would support using alternative penalties for non-violent offenders, a recent Angus Reid poll has found. In the poll of 1,004 Canadian adults, 70 per cent say they would support the use of alternative penalties, such as fines, probation or community service. The poll also found that the majority of respondents feel that the Canadian justice system does not treat every person fairly (59 per cent), but that the courts do a good job in determining whether or not an accused person is guilty (60 per cent).

Finally, most Canadians believe that the audit into MP expenses by Auditor-General Sheila Fraser is necessary. Of the 1,031 Canadian adults surveyed in a recent Angus Reid poll, 82 per cent welcome the audit, while only six per cent think it is unnecessary. When it comes to the detail of the report, the majority of respondents (53 per cent) would like full disclosure, saying that it should include every single expense made by each MP with his or her stipend in a year.

Canadians are in support of the decisions made in response to the inquiry into the death of Robert Dziekanski, a recent Angus Reid poll has found.

Dziekanski, 40, died in the Vancouver airport in 2007 after being tasered multiple times by RCMP officers.

The inquiry into his death concluded that he did not pose a threat to the RCMP officers, so there was no justification for the officers to use a taser.

Of the 1,009 Canadian adults surveyed for the poll, 69 per cent agree with the conclusions of the inquiry. Additionally, 61 per cent are in favour of the decision to name a special prosecutor to look at whether criminal charges should be laid against the four RCMP officers.

When it comes to salaries, most Canadians are in the dark about how much our Prime Minister makes. In a recent Angus Reid poll, only 14 per cent of respondents knew that the Prime Minister makes between $301,000 to $400,000 a year. The same percentage of Americans knew that their President is in the same salary range, while Britons were better informed, with 49 per cent knowing that their Prime Minister earns between £101,000 to £200,000 a year.

Healthcare is the most important issue facing our country, according to a recent Nanos poll. Of the 1,008 Canadian adults surveyed, 23.1 per cent feel that healthcare is the most important issue, followed by jobs/economy at 19.2 per cent, the environment at 12.6 per cent, high taxes at 5.3 per cent and education at 2.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, nearly half of Canadians (48 per cent) believe that it was a mistake to send our troops to Afghanistan, a new poll from Angus Reid shows. Over one third (34 per cent) of the 1,007 respondents, however, believe Canada did the right thing by sending our military forces, while 17 per cent are not sure whether it was the right thing to do or not.

Finally, while the Conservatives are still the preferred national party, the party now has the lowest percentage of support since gaining government. In a recent voting intention poll of 2,013 Canadian adults by Ekos, the Conservative Party is holding on to the lead with 30.5 per cent. The Liberal Party remains in second place with 26.3 per cent, followed by the NDP at 17.4 per cent, the Green Party at 12.3 per cent and the Bloc Québécois at 10.5 per cent.