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A new poll by the Angus Reid Institute shows Canadians are evenly split over the recent decision to grant Omar Khadr bail while he awaits an appeal of his conviction in the United States for war crimes.

And while just over half of Canadians believe Khadr still poses a potential threat, almost the same number believe he has “served his time.”

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It wasn’t that long ago that almost half of Canadians — 46 per cent — told the same pollster they supported the notion of indefinite imprisonment to prevent homegrown terrorism.

“What we see is Canadians taking a harder line, a harder stance when it comes to public safety and the domestic terror file — and yet it softens when it comes to Omar Khadr,” said Shachi Kurl, the institute’s senior vice-president.

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“They cannot find consensus … whether this is a reformed young man who means what he says around doing right and how he doesn’t harbour violent tendencies or radicalized tendencies anymore.”