Voters in Canada want the federal government to implement a national pharmacare program and to take action on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples, suggests new results from a Mainstreet Research poll for iPolitics.

Most respondents in the 2,463-person phone survey, conducted between July 30-31, also want Ottawa to do more about racist and xenophobic statements and language and believe the gender wage gap is real, though think the private sector can do more to address it than the government.

The entire survey has a margin of error of 1.97 percentage points and is considered accurate 19 times out of 20, says Mainstreet.

According to the survey, 69.3 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement the federal government should work on reconciliation with Indigenous peoples in Canada, regardless of who wins the next election.

The governing Liberals, as well as the opposition New Democrats and Green Party, have repeatedly said working on improving the federal government’s relationship with Indigenous peoples, including addressing historic wrongs and dismantling “colonialist” structures, should be a top priority.

Meanwhile, 67.8 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement that a national pharmacare program, explained in the survey as a system where federal government pays for prescription drugs, is something that Canada should have whether the government can afford it or not.

Only 26.5 of respondents disagreed with the statement.

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A Liberal government advisory panel recommended the implementation of a national, single-payer pharmacare system in its final report released earlier this year. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other cabinet ministers have said the party is committed to delivering national pharmacare, though the Liberals have yet to say whether it will be a single-payer model or not.

The NDP and Green Party support a national, single-payer pharmacare program.

And 67.7 per cent of respondents agreed that the gender wage gap in Canada is real, that is the difference in pay between men and women, specifically that women are paid less than men. Of that total, 39.4 per cent say they strongly agree about its existence.

However, a strong majority — 61.7 per cent — think private companies can do more to fix this gender wage gap than any law that the federal government can pass.

“These issues are important to Canadians,” Quito Maggi, president and CEO of Mainstreet Research, said in a statement.

“Voters will be listening carefully to all political parties during the upcoming election about how they plan to tackle these issues.”

“As a result, all federal parties should have an answer for Canadians on how they plan on tackling the issues of reconciliation, national pharmacare, and the gender wage gap,” Maggi added.

According to the survey, a majority of respondents in every province and region supported statements calling for a national pharmacare program, action on reconciliation being a priority and that the wage gap is real.

Finally, 50.6 per cent of respondents agreed with the statement that the federal government should do more about racist and xenophobic statements and language, even if it means placing limits on free speech. Forty-two per cent did not agree, while the remaining 8.5 per cent were not sure.

Support for the statement stood at 55.8 per cent among women, compared to only 43.3 per cent among men, while among the regions, support was the highest in Quebec (59.3), Atlantic Canada (56.2), Ontario (48.4) and B.C. (47.6), and the lowest in Prairies (36.5) and Alberta (39.7).

“The issue of limiting racist and xenophobic language aside, Canadians of all ages, genders, and from different regions believe that these issues require significant attention,” Maggi said.

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