POLL: Public Schools Headed in Wrong Direction

• 51% of Canadians think the public school system has gone in the wrong direction over the last 20 years – up significantly from 32% in late 2020

• Canadians overwhelmingly think schools should inform parents if their child wants to change their gender or pronouns 

CALGARY, AB: Think tank SecondStreet.org released new poll results today that show a significant increase in the number of Canadians who believe the public school system has gone in the wrong direction over the last 20 years. The poll also found that a wide margin of Canadians think schools should let parents know if their child wants to change their pronouns or discuss transitioning. 

“The number of Canadians who think the system is going in the wrong direction has jumped significantly over the last couple years,” said SecondStreet.org President Colin Craig. “Governments would be wise to examine what’s driving this change and consider alternative options to support parents, including options outside of the public school system.” 

Highlights from the poll include: 

• 51% think the public education system has generally gone in the wrong direction over the last 20 years while 25% indicated it has gone in the right direction. The rate of respondents indicating “wrong direction” is up significantly from October 2020 (32%).
• 57% believe schools should have to inform parents if their child discusses changing their gender pronouns or transitioning. Only 18% disagreed with this statement while 25% didn’t know.
• 47% think schools should have to place sensitive gender identity and race related materials online so parents can view them ahead of time; 31% of parents disagree with this option.

The poll was conducted for SecondStreet.org by Leger between May 5-7 among 1,523 online participants.

To see the poll results – click here.