North American Tracker (April 13, 2023): Crime and Violence, Politics and Trump’s Indictment

Posted on April 13th, 2023 in News, Surveys

DISCOVER OUR MOST RECENT RESULTS BELOW! 

This survey is conducted in collaboration with the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS) and published in the Canadian Press. This series of surveys is available on Leger’s website. 

VIOLENCE, CRIME AND PUBLIC SAFETY

Canadians and Americans share similar perspectives on the level of crime in their communities and the solutions to improve public safety.  

  • 65% of Canadians and 55% of Americans believe crime and violence have gotten worse in their community compared to pre-pandemic times. 
  • In total, 39% of Canadians and 36% of Americans said they or someone close to them has feared for their safety in the last 6 months.

Canadians’ and Americans’ perspectives on further restrictions on gun ownership are more similar than some may think. 

  • In Canada, 47% of Canadians believe stricter restrictions on gun ownership would make them feel safer where they live, while 42% believe this would not affect their feeling of safety. 11% believe that stricter restrictions would make them feel less safe. 
  • In the U.S., 43% of Americans believe stricter restrictions on gun ownership would make them feel safer where they live, while 40% believe this would not affect their feeling of safety. 17% believe that stricter restrictions would make them feel less safe. 

Out of a list of 9 potential actions to reduce crime and violence, the top 3 actions that Canadians and Americans think would make communities feel safer are: 

  • Tougher penalties for those who are found guilty of committing violent crimes (81% of Canadians, 75% of Americans) 
  • Increasing funding for mental health services (79% of Canadians, 68% of Americans) 
  • Increasing police presence in their community (75% of Canadians, 70% of Americans) 
Top 3 actions that Canadians and Americans think would make communities feel safer.

CANADIAN FEDERAL POLITICS

There is a four-point gap in voting intentions that favours the CPC (34% to 30% for the LPC), and the NDP remains third at 21%. While PM Trudeau holds on to a two-point edge on best PM (23% to 21%) over Pierre Poilievre, overall satisfaction with the current government remains fairly low, at 37%. 

THE TRUMP INDICTMENT

The majority of Americans approve of Donald Trump’s indictment (55%) and a similar proportion (54%) believe he will be found guilty as charged. Results for these questions differ sharply among partisan lines, as expected, and appear to not have hurt Trump’s electoral fortunes among Republicans. Trump still holds a 30-point lead over DeSantis (52% to 22%) as best GOP candidate for the upcoming U.S. election among Republican voters.* 

*Those who plan to vote Republican in the 2024 presidential election 

METHODOLOGY 

This web survey was conducted from April 6 to 10, 2023, with 1,517 Canadians and 1,004 Americans, 18 years of age or older, randomly recruited from LEO’s online panel. 

To view the April 13, 2023 report, CLICK HERE. 

Has crime and violence worsened in your community compared to pre-pandemic times?

TELL US IN THE COMMENTS BELOW! 

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