Business support for COVID restrictions down from last fall: survey

TORONTO — Support for pandemic-related restrictions has fallen among business executives since last fall, according to a new Modus Research report.

Modus says support for tighter restraints dropped to 38 per cent of executives surveyed in March, down from 54 per cent last fall when the pandemic was beginning its second wave.

In contrast, support for looser rules rose to 39 per cent in March, up from 26 per cent in October.

The Modus findings are based on a representative sample of more than 900 managers and executives in Canada.

It says there were significant regional differences in its sample.

Alberta had the highest support for easing restraints (55 per cent) while Ontario had the most support for tighter controls (44 per cent).