As Quebec and Ontario backtrack on vaccine mandates for healthcare workers due to fears of staffing shortages, new data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds a majority of Canadians – including in those respective provinces – support dismissing workers who refuse to get the jab across a variety of industries.

A majority of Canadians believe airline employees, schoolteachers, first responders, medical professionals, restaurant employees, construction workers and people who work for small businesses should lose their job if they refuse to get vaccinated. In Quebec (65%) and Ontario (71%), support for dismissal of unwilling medical professionals is considerable, despite their provincial government’s respective decisions.

There are important regional divides, with support for firing the unvaccinated highest in BC, Atlantic Canada, and Ontario. Although support varies by profession, the Prairie provinces and Quebec are the least enthusiastic about these measures overall. Of note, in Quebec – where the government recently renounced its mandatory vaccination plan for healthcare workers – two-thirds (65%) of respondents indicated that they are in favour of healthcare workers being fired if they refuse to be vaccinated.

Overall, airline workers who refuse to be vaccinated top the list with a 71% disapproval rate amongst the public. Only 27% of people feel they should not be fired.

Small businesses (under 10 employees) are given the most leeway with a 53-41% split over employee refusal to be vaccinated being considered a fireable offence.

This comes as Canadians are hoping to build on the relative progress the country has made in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of people who describe their mental health in dealing with the ongoing pandemic as “great” has doubled since the spring, perhaps as vaccine passports have allowed some semblance of normal life to return across the country.

More key findings of the survey include:

• Half (52%) of Canadians are personally concerned about contracting the virus, a five-point decline from October. Those who are vaccinated are much more likely to say they are concerned (55%) than those who are not (19%).

• Three-in-five (63%) remain concerned about loved ones contracting the virus, but that represents a low on that measure since the pandemic took hold 20 months ago.

Meanwhile, questions remain about the future and Canada’s prioritization for COVID-19 vaccines. After Health Canada approved Pfizer booster shots for adults 18 years of age and older, some have questioned whether the focus should indeed be on boosting immunity at home or transitioning more fully to helping low-income countries, where vaccine access inequality persists. Canadians are divided. Two-in-five (43%) would continue to focus on boosters at home, while the same number would shift resources abroad (42%).