 Print
Nearly One in Four (23%) Canadians Believe Syrian Refugee Crisis Will Be Biggest Humanitarian Challenge in 2017
12-15-2016
Toronto, ON – Nearly one in four (23%) Canadians believe the Syrian refugee crisis will be the biggest humanitarian challenge the world will be facing in 2017, only exceeded by the 27% saying climate change will most likely be our major challenge. With the holiday season fast approaching, Canadians appear to not only want to help address these global issues but are in the mindset to embrace the true meaning of giving back this holiday season, according to a new Ipsos survey conducted on behalf of UNICEF.
Canadians believe climate change and the Syrian refugee crisis will most likely be the two toughest issues the world will need to tackle in the new year, there are several other prominent issues at hand: two in ten (18%) say it will most likely be food security and water scarcity, 12% say child poverty, 11% say disease and one in ten (8%) say education will also be issues that will put the world’s efforts to the test in 2017.
Reflecting on the challenges facing the world, two in five (44%) Canadians ‘agree’ (9% strongly/35% somewhat) that they still feel hopeful about the current state of the world, although 56% ‘disagree’ (18% strongly/38% somewhat) that they’re hopeful, showing a profound skepticism among Canadians about the direction of the world.
Syrian Refugee Crisis
The federal government has made resettling Syrian refugees in Canada a priority on their political agenda and many Canadians appear to be motivated to do their part in addressing the crisis this holiday season. Though many Canadians acknowledge the challenge of the Syrian refugee crisis globally, the personal priorities of Canadians and where they want to help are slightly different. If Canadians could personally help address a global issue this holiday season, one in three (34%) say it would be child poverty, followed by climate change (19%), food security and water scarcity (18%), diseases (12%) and lastly the Syrian Refugee Crisis (8%).
More women (39%) than men (29%) say they will want to help address child poverty this holiday season. Meanwhile, Baby Boomers (37%) and Gen X’ers (37%) are more likely than Millennials (27%) to want to help address child poverty, while Millennials (15%) are more interested in education as a global issued compared to Gen X’ers (8%) and Baby Boomers (5%).
Regionally, Quebecers (20%) are more likely to say the global issue of disease is important to them and would want to contribute to helping address it this holiday season, followed by those in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (16%), Atlantic provinces (11%), Ontario (10%), Alberta (9%) and British Columbia (5%).
Regardless of other global issues being more top-of-mind, a majority of Canadians are eager to bring refugees some cheer this holiday season. To help out, two in three (65%) ‘agree’ (22% strongly/43% somewhat) that this holiday season they would like to buy a holiday gift for a child living in a refugee camp.
More women (70%) than men (61%) express interest in buying a gift for a child living in a refugee camp this holiday season. Moreover, Millennials (71%) are more likely to want to buy a holiday gift for a child living in a refugee camp compared to Gen X’ers (65%) and Baby Boomers (60%).
Footnotes:
|