NEARLY HALF THE CANADIANS WILL NOT WATCH BEIJING WINTER OLYMPICS, Survey Suggests

Chandrayee Roy Choudhury, Canada : Nearly half of Canadians say they won't be watching the Beijing Winter Olympic games, a recent survey suggests. 

According to results of an online survey by the Vancouver, B.C.-based consultancy Research Co., 47 per cent of 1,000 respondents across Canada say they will make a conscious effort to refrain from watching the sporting event — up two points from results from a similar survey conducted in December 2021. 

Fifty-nine per cent of respondents say they think Canada should boycott the Games over China's human rights record.
The results also suggest that 66 per cent of British Columbians surveyed are in favour of a full boycott.

Research Co. president Mario Canseco says the surveys — which were also conducted by the consultancy in March and August last year — have consistently suggested that a fairly high percentage of Canadians are not in favour of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

He says this is partially because of China's detention of Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor after the arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou in December 2018 — and that many Canadians' views of China have not changed, even after the two Michaels' release last September.

The level of animosity towards China as the host country has not budged over the past few months.