Skip to Content Subscribe Our Offers My Account Manage My Subscriptions FAQ Newsletters Canada Canadian True Crime Canadian Politics Health World Israel & Middle East Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Comics NP News Quiz New York Times Crossword Horoscopes Life Eating & Drinking Style Sponsored Play for Ontario Travel Travel Canada Travel USA Travel International Cruises Travel Essentials Culture Books Celebrity Movies Music Theatre Television Business Essentials Advice Lives Told Tails Told Shopping Buy Canadian Home Living Outdoor Living Tech Style & Beauty Kitchen & Dining Personal Care Entertainment & Hobbies Gift Guide Travel Guide Deals Savings National Post Store More Sports Hockey Baseball Basketball Football Soccer Golf Tennis Driving Vehicle Research Reviews News Gear Guide Obituaries Place an Obituary Place an In Memoriam Classifieds Place an Ad Celebrations Working Business Ads Archives Healthing Epaper Manage Print Subscription Profile Settings My Subscriptions Saved Articles My Offers Newsletters Customer Service FAQ Newsletters Canada World Financial Post NP Comment Longreads Puzzmo Diversions Life Shopping Epaper Manage Print Subscription HomeCanadaFIRST READING: The Canadian electorate may be even more tuned-out than you thinkAs Canada prepares to start euthanizing the mentally ill, most Canadians didn't even know that was a thing You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.According to a new survey by the Angus Reid Institute, 56 per cent were “unaware that mental illness eligibility for MAID could arrive in March 2027.” Photo by Gordon Beck /The GazetteFirst Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Enjoy the latest local, national and international news.Exclusive articles by Conrad Black, Barbara Kay and others. Plus, special edition NP Platformed and First Reading newsletters and virtual events.Unlimited online access to National Post.National Post ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.Support local journalism.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authorsSign In or Create an AccountorCanada is only 10 months away from a March 17 deadline under which MAID could become legal for the mentally ill. This would make Canada one of only six countries on earth where otherwise healthy citizens can be euthanized by their government for conditions such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.And according to a new survey by the Angus Reid Institute, a majority of Canadians had no idea any of this was happening. Of respondents, 56 per cent were “unaware that mental illness eligibility for MAID could arrive in March 2027.”The survey illustrates an underappreciated aspect of Canadian politics, if not democratic politics generally. As political parties jockey for favour among the electorate, they’re often up against an audience that does not follow current affairs and may even struggle to define the basic workings of their political system.Below, a cursory summary of other instances in which Canadians were found not to have the best grasp of what’s going on.Canadians wildly underestimate the deadliness of cancer and car crashesJust days before Canada was swept by the COVID-19 pandemic, Ipsos published a poll asking Canadians the most likely causes of death in their country.These types of polls are famous for highlighting public overestimates of the murder rate, and Canada was no different: Respondents said six per cent of deaths were from homicide, against the true figure of 0.2 per cent.But it also showed that Canadians were simultaneously underestimating the deadliness of the things most likely to kill them. At the time, cancer was responsible for 29 per cent of Canadian deaths, although Canadians thought it was 17 per cent.Cardiovascular diseases represented another 29 per cent of deaths, with Canadians instead pegging the figure at 13 per cent.And they were most inaccurate when it came to deadly accidents. At the time, one fifth of Canadian deaths were due to car crashes, plane crashes and other “transport-related” fatalities. But poll respondents guessed it was closer to one death in every 14 (seven per cent).In 2012, most Canadians didn’t know how the prime minister is electedA chronic problem with Canadian politics is the mistaken belief that U.S. norms are Canadian. Even Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is on record as thinking that she has pardon powers, even though that’s a prerogative of U.S. state governors, and not Canadian premiersIn a 2012 poll, Ipsos found that a majority of respondents seemed to think that the prime minister of Canada was directly elected, similar to a U.S. president.Of survey participants, 49 per cent got the question right, answering that elections decide the composition of Parliament, which then determines who the prime minister will be. But 51 per cent got it wrong, saying the prime minister is “directly elected” by voters.Although, this same survey showed excellent results on Canadians’ knowledge of royal prerogative. Ninety per cent of respondents got it right that the Governor General can refuse requests by a prime minister, including a request to call a snap election.A third of Canadians have ‘never heard’ of our deadliest terror attackRecent years have seen a notable ramping-up of violent rhetoric and actions from Canada-based pro-Khalistani extremists. That is, Sikh nationalists seeking the secession of a chunk of Indian territory to be transformed into a Sikh ethnostate known as Khalistan.This has included pro-Khalistani attacks on Hindu temples, and in 2023, a Brampton, Ont., parade featuring a pro-Khalistani float glorifying the 1984 murder of Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi.This should be particularly relevant to Canadians, given that Khalistani extremists are responsible for Canada’s single worst act of mass murder, the 1985 Air India bombing. But as the Angus Reid Institute found in 2023, many Canadians have never even heard about it.In 1985, pro-Khalistani elements in B.C. placed a bomb on an Air India 747, killing 329 people, including 280 Canadians, when it exploded off the coast of Ireland.But according to Angus Reid Institute respondents, 28 per cent had “never heard of this until now” when provided with the details of the tragedy. This included clear majorities of Canadians under 34 (53 per cent for the men, 62 per cent for women).Nearly half of Canadians hadn’t heard about an alleged Indian assassination plot on Canadian soilSpeaking of Khalistanis, in 2023 the pro-Khalistani leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar was shot and killed in Surrey, B.C., in a targeted hit. And according to details released in a related U.S. investigation, the hit may have been ordered by an agent working for the Indian government.If true, it would mark the first time in history that a successful, state-sponsored assassination had occurred on Canadian soil.But as this was all playing out, a poll by Leger found that almost half of Canadians hadn’t heard of this. When asked if they knew about allegations that the “Indian government has interfered in Canada,” 47 per cent said they were “not aware.”In 2014, Canadians guessed that unemployment was as bad as in the Great DepressionIn 2014, Ipsos conducted a poll across 14 countries to gauge how much people knew about the demographics of their own country. While Canadians were pretty good at guessing their country’s life expectancy, it was a completely different story when it came to unemployment.Respondents guessed that 22.7 per cent of the working-age population was unemployed, a rate in line with some of the worst years of the Great Depression. In reality, it was about seven per cent, roughly the same as in 2026. That is an Alberta flag flying over the National Assembly in Quebec City, the result of Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s visit this week to meet her newly installed Quebec counterpart Christine Fréchette. In a speech, Smith explained her province’s intense contempt for Quebec politician Steven Guilbeault, the onetime environment minister under then prime minister Justin Trudeau who actively sought to curtail Alberta oil development. “I as a premier should never come into Quebec and tell you what you should and shouldn’t develop for your industry, and I think no politician should come into Alberta and tell us the same thing,” she said.It’s been two weeks since a CTV report revealed a widespread criminal conspiracy that involved airport employees using unwitting Canadian air passengers as drug mules. Specifically, employees at Canadian airports were taking tags from legitimate luggage and slapping them on suitcases filled with drugs. In instances where the drug shipments are discovered by foreign customs agents, the innocent passenger with their name on the suitcase is then arrested. In committee testimony this week, here’s how Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said his office was dealing with the issue: “These are very intricate and delicate interconnected systems. We’re not going to do anything rash, but I can tell you that in federal transportation infrastructure, security is something that preoccupies me.”First Reading is a Canadian politics newsletter curated by the National Post’s own Tristin Hopper. To get an early version sent directly to your inbox, sign up here.Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here. Get the latest from Tristin Hopper straight to your inbox Join the Conversation This website uses cookies to personalize your content (including ads), and allows us to analyze our traffic. Read more about cookies here. By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.