Canadians want action against online hate, according to national poll 

Respondents to a national survey conducted for the Canadian Race Relations Foundation has found that almost 80% of Canadians want to see the government develop legislation that will fight online harassment and abuse

Three-quarters want social media companies to be made legally responsible for monitoring hateful content and eliminating abusive posts before dissemination. Support for strengthening both Canada’s Human Rights Act and our Criminal Code is equally high.

Hate speech appears to have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic as more conversations are limited to online environments and mask mandates and vaccination policies have increased polarization.

The poll conducted by Nanos Research between November 3 and 8, 2021 surveyed a representative sample (by age, gender and geography) of 2,018 Canadians age 18 and up.

View report here