NATIONAL PULSE – Canadians reject military role in Iran by seven-to-one

Posted on March 17, 2026 in Feedback, National Pulse // 0 Comments

A combat engineer leads the strategic partners visit of the combat engineer training site during Operation UNIFIER, in Poland, on 15 March 2025. (Image: Canadian Armed Forces)

Three-in-five say increasing gas prices have already led to personal behavioural change

By ANGUS REID INSTITUTE

March 17, 2026 – Prime Minister Mark Carney has responded to the U.S.-Israeli bombardment of Iran with a mix of support and hesitation, leading some to wonder if his position is in need of clarification, while others praise his strategic ambiguity. For Canadians, there’s little in the way of guess work.

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds three-quarters of Canadians (74%) saying Canada’s military should not be involved in this conflict, with one-in-10 (10%) disagreeing. Another 15 per cent take no position.

The lack of interest in getting involved mirrors some of Carney’s statements, as he told parliament that Canada “will never participate”. That said, calls from U.S. President Donald Trump to other nations for additional assistance are growing.

Population level support for Canadian involvement is limited to single digits for a number of different options. Four per cent would offer Canadian aircraft strike assistance and the same number would offer Canadian troops if a ground invasion were to follow. The largest number – six per cent – would offer intelligence and cybersecurity support.

While the war feels far away, and Canadians hope to keep it that way, the impact on gas prices at home has already been felt. With traffic in the Strait of Hormuz still constrained, prices have jumped between 20 to 25 cents per litre in much of the country. One-quarter of Canadians (23%) say this has impacted their household finances a great deal already, while another 44 per cent say they’ve felt the impact more minimally. Overall, three-in-five say they’ve made changes including driving less, combining trips, and using alternative transportation.

More Key Findings:

While 10 per cent of Canadians support military involvement, this rises to 21 per cent among past CPC voters and drops to three and five per cent for Liberals and New Democrats, respectively.

Three-quarters say they have been following the war closely so far. This rises to 87 per cent among men over the age of 55 and drops to 58 per cent among women younger than 35.

Link to the poll here: www.angusreid.org/

Download .PDF with detailed tables, graphs and methodology.