9/11 a defining event in their lifetime, Canadians tell survey
OTTAWA — A majority of Canadians say the 9/11 terrorist attack on the United States is the “defining” socio-political event of their lifetime, according to a new study.
A decade after the terrorist strikes,gucci outlet an overwhelming number of Canadians believe the world has changed as a result — and not necessarily for the better.
Despite billions spent on measures in Canada and throughout the world to prevent terrorism, most Canadians are pessimistic that the war on terror can be won.
These are some of the highlights of a survey Ipsos Reid conducted for Postmedia News and Global TV:
? 57 per cent of Canadians agree that the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, are the defining socio-political event of their lifetime. Canadians of all ages are equally as likely to say this.
? 89 per cent say they believe that the “world has changed as a result of 9/11.”
? A decade after the attacks, 83 per cent of Canadians disagree with the statement that the world is “better” since the attacks.
? 60 per cent don’t believe the “war on terror is one that we can win.”
? 75 per cent of Canadians do not believe the war in Afghanistan has been worth the financial cost.
“What this poll tells us is that this (9/11) scar is deep,” said John Wright, senior vice-president of public affairs at Ipsos Reid, adding he, like many Canadians, remembers 9/11 vividly — as well as its effects.
“I was in the office, I had the television on for the entire morning and watched the towers go down, the next day, the most eerie thing was silence, there were no cars honking, no planes flying overhead, it was shockingly quiet. That’s why when we look at this, it was like a fire that goes through a forest, you can see the burn marks that are embedded in the tree rings,” he said.
“For half the population, (9/11) was the most impactful thing that hit them. What’s interesting is that you would’ve expected more age variation because some older folks witnessed the good, like moon lands, and the bad, like JFK’s assassination or the world wars, but consistently from the young and old, (9/11) was the defining event they remember,” he said.
After 9/11, Wright said there were visible changes like airport security and no-fly lists.
“There’s no doubt 9/11 has penetrated the soul of those people who were there at that time; who witnessed it in such great detail,” said Wright.
“We feel vulnerable . . . it’s a human security threat,” he adds.
With regards to respondents’ views on our troops in Afghanistan, Wright said that Canada often proved to catch people before things happened.
However, with our mission in Afghanistan, Canadians are confused as to why we are still there because the message is not communicated clearly, he said.
Ipsos Reid used a national sample of 1,012 adults who were interviewed online. The margin of error is 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
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