EDMONTON -- The Alberta government decided last week to send students back to the classroom in the fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but not all families will follow suit, according to one poll.
Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies recently polled 1,517 Canadians and asked them a variety of questions including whether they will send their children back to school in September, keep them at home or if they are undecided.
Twenty-nine per cent of Albertans, the highest of any province, said they will keep their children at home this fall. Fifty-eight per cent of Albertans said they will send their kids to school and 13 per cent said they don't know yet.
The large majority of respondents in Quebec — 77 per cent — said they will send their children back to school, while only 40 per cent of respondents in British Columbia said they have made that decision.
Meanwhile, only five per cent of respondents in Saskatchewan and Manitoba said they will keep their children at home.
Overall, 59 per cent of Canadians said they will send their kids to school, 18 per cent won't and 23 per cent are unsure.
The majority of Canadians said they agree with health measures in an attempt to keep students safe in schools, including temperature checks on children (82 per cent), masks for teachers and staff (81 per cent), screening questionnaires (77 per cent) and masks for students (65 per cent).
In Alberta, 60 per cent of respondents want students to wear masks.
The province announced its decision to resume in-class learning for the 2020-21 school year last Tuesday after debating three options, including partially returning to school or continuing to learn from home.
Leger conducted the web survey between July 24-26.
The poll has a margin of error of +/- 2.52 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
