OTTAWA -- Results of a taxpayer-funded poll that included questions on whether the federal government should ban face veils at citizenship ceremonies were released Thursday ahead of a leaders' debate where the issue is likely to surface.

The Privy Council survey found Quebecers in particular were overwhelmingly supportive of the idea and that's the province where all five leaders will be debating a variety of issues Thursday night.

The poll of 3,000 Canadians was taken over 13 days in March asthe debate on the niqab was reaching a fevered pitch in the House of Commons, with Prime Minister Stephen Harper calling them the product of a culture that is anti-woman.

His remarks came in the aftermath of the Conservative government's decision to appeal a Federal Court decision that struck down the rule forbidding people to cover their faces while taking the oath of citizenship.

Eighty-two percent of those polled supported the ban, and in Quebec, that number was 93%.

The poll had a margin of error of 1.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The Privy Council -- which is the bureaucracy serving the prime minister -- had asked about the issue as part of a broader survey that also touched on Canada's role in the Ukraine and in the fight against Islamic militants in the Middle East.