A recent survey found a total of 13 million adult Canadians, 44%, believe large events like wars, recessions, and the outcomes of elections are “controlled by small groups of people working in secret against us.”."Canadians who want to believe Canadian society is relatively unaffected by conspiracy thinking will find little comfort in these results," said Abacus Data's Bruce Anderson and David Coletto.."Millions believe that our lives are controlled by secret plots to undermine our interests.".Abacus Data conducted the survey from May 20 to 24, asking 1500 Canadians what they thought about conspiracy theories. .The survey found a total of 11 million Canadians, or 37% surveyed, believe in the “Great Replacement” theory, which claims a group of people are attempting to replace native-born Canadians through lowering their birthrates and increasing immigration..A total of 20% said they believed it was definitely or probably true that the World Economic Forum is a group of elites, "with a secretive strategy to impose their ideas on the world.” Another 37% said they believed it was possibly true, or that aren’t sure either way..The believe that "secret societies control the world" was just as popular, with 22% of Canadians answering to the affirmative and 31% saying it was possible or they weren't sure..Another 13% believed in the conspiracy theory that Microsoft founder Bill Gates is using microchips to track people and affect human behaviour, while 21% said it was possible or they weren't sure..Belief in these conspiracy theories was highest among supporters People’s Party, those who refused COVID-19 vaccines, and those who place little trust in the media or government officials..Conservative voters were the second-most likely to believe in conspiracy theories, followed by Green voters, NDP voters, and finally Liberal voters..Additionally, supporters of Conservative leadership candidate Pierre Poilievre were more likely to believe conspiracy theories than supporters of Jean Charest..Anderson and Coletto said data shows in order to compete for votes from the People’s Party base, the Conservative Party could choose to "embrace conspiracy thinking," at the expense of alienating a portion of potential voters. ."That such beliefs correlate strongly with the instinct to mistrust what media report and what governments say, is a challenge that threatens all institutions that depend on an informed body politic and is like a poison affecting our civil discourse," Anderson and Coletto said..They added the numbers were especially "disconcerting" because conspiracy theorists mistrust of institutional accounts wasn't neutral skepticism, but was "often accompanied by a willingness to believe dangerous contrarian theories."."This threatens to undermine the ability of political parties, businesses, civil society groups, and governments to help build consensus and make progress together."
