Government spending on flights for Canadians fleeing the Middle East unpopular, Nanos survey finds

Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike in Dahiyeh, Beirut, Lebanon, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. (Hassan Ammar / AP Photo)

Amid escalating violence in the Middle East, a majority of surveyed Canadians say they don't believe the costs associated with Canadians fleeing the region should be funded solely by the government.

The survey by Nanos Research and CTV News of more than 1,000 Canadian adults showed that more than a third of respondents felt Canadian citizens fleeing Lebanon, Israel or the broader region should cover travel costs on their own (36.2 per cent). A slightly larger percentage said costs should be shared between evacuees and the federal government (37.4 per cent).

Only one in five of those surveyed between Sept. 29 and Oct. 2 said that Canada should pay for evacuations in full (20.4 per cent), and six per cent indicated they were unsure.

Broken out by demographic, central Canadians, men and those aged 55 and up were more likely to report that the financial responsibility should fall to the evacuees.

Uncertainty was uncommon, with just four to nine per cent of people across all demographics saying they weren't sure of their opinion.

'It is time to leave'

Recent months have seen a steep rise in attacks between Israel and militant groups across the Middle East, as the yearlong war in Gaza threatens to develop into a wider regional conflict.

In September, a series of Israeli airstrikes hit Lebanon in a marked escalation from previous exchanges of attacks in the border region between Israel and the militant group Hezbollah.

A Sept. 30 social media post by Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly reiterated from previous statements that Canadians in Lebanon "must leave now," citing an "increasingly dangerous and volatile" security situation in the country.

Days earlier, Joly confirmed that two Canadians had been killed in airstrikes in Lebanon.

Joly wrote in the Sept. 30 post that the federal government had secured 800 seats on flights leaving in the first few days of October, but that the federal government will also "continue to work with international partners to facilitate flights."

More information can be found on the federal government's travel advisory page for Lebanon.

"If you are offered a seat, take it now," Joly's post reads.

Methodology

On behalf of CTV News, Nanos Research conducted an RDD dual-frame survey, online and over the phone, with a random sample size of 1,058 Canadian adults. The survey was conducted between Sept. 29 and Oct. 2, 2024, and carries a margin for error of plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Results were statistically checked and weighted by age and gender, in accordance with available Census data, to be representative of Canada.

With files from CTV News' Stephanie Ha