For the last 10 days of 2015, the Angus Reid Institute is counting down our top 10 stories of the year, based on the total number of page views they received at angusreid.org. This is number 9.
The military mission against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) was thrust farther into the public opinion spotlight late in 2015 by the Nov. 13 terrorist attacks in Paris, but the Angus Reid Institute was canvassing opinion on the issue as early as March, when 56 per cent of Canadians said Parliament should vote to extend the mission.
Shortly after the federal election, a narrow majority of Canadians (52%) said they supported Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s campaign promise to end Canada’s involvement in air-bombing raids against ISIS, but continue providing military training in the region.
That support evaporated after Paris, however, when three-in-five told ARI they felt Canada should either keep doing the bombing it had committed to or increase its bombing efforts.
Read the stories yourself:
March 23, 2015: ISIS Mission: Canadians tilt slightly towards extending involvement against Islamic State
November 2, 2015: Canadians excited about Trudeau win, less so about key campaign promises on refugees, TFSAs, pot
November 19, 2015: Mission against ISIS: Three-in-five Canadians say government should maintain or increase bombing
Image Credit: Jean-Pierre Bluteau