Canada's response to COVID has been much less partisan than America's. Also, the federal government has been more responsive, the provinces have been more cooperative, and citizens are more unified. Why?
First, a bit of evidence. A review of MPs' twitter feeds shows politicians of all parties taking COVID very seriously. Google search trends find no evidence that party ID affects frequency of COVID search queries or citizens' level of reported concern.
osf.io/xas4u/
osf.io/xas4u/
Compared to America and the UK, Canadians are also less likely to hold inaccurate beliefs about COVID, especially "magical" or "conspiratorial" ones.
psyarxiv.com/zhjkp/
psyarxiv.com/zhjkp/
This has been noted in more journalistic accounts too. In spite of a strong federal system characterized by deep inter-provincial disagreement, Canada's leaders are coming together.
ctvnews.ca/health/coronav…
ctvnews.ca/health/coronav…
I don't quite know what's gone "right" in Canada. As @GordPennycook notes, there is a strong relationship in the US between trust in rightwing media and misperceptions about COVID, something that we don't see in Canada. So this could be a media story.
It could also be that Canadians just have more trust in their political leaders and core national institutions. There's some evidence to this effect, and of course the total annihilation of the People's Party last year is suggestive of this.
samaracanada.com/research/polit…
samaracanada.com/research/polit…
But trust in and support for science, the media, universities, and governmental agencies are not exactly robust at the moment. The picture is distinctly muddled.
ctvnews.ca/canada/only-53…
ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/poll-…
ctvnews.ca/canada/only-53…
ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/poll-…
It's a puzzle, one that may go away as the pandemic wears on and social consensus breaks down. But for the moment, it seems important to figure out what Canada is doing right.
One of the images above is a bit fuzzy. Here it is again.
Another study finds strong, trans-partisan support for the lockdown.
