MONTREAL — A recent nationwide poll commissioned in the aftermath of Quebec’s “reasonable accommodation” commission hearings on minorities reveals a striking disparity between Quebecers’ attitudes toward Jews and those of other Canadians.

The poll, commissioned by the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS) and conducted by Léger Marketing between Jan. 31 and Feb. 4, asked 1,500 Canadians whether they agreed with, disagreed with, or didn’t know/had no opinion on a series of statements regarding Jews and anti-Semitism.

According to the poll results, 41 per cent of Quebecers agreed, and another 41 per cent disagreed, with the idea that “Jews want to impose their customs and traditions on others.” By comparison, only 11 per cent agreed and 74 per cent disagreed in the rest of Canada. The average nationwide was 19 per cent agreeing and 64 per cent disagreeing.

To another statement – “Jews want to participate fully in society” – 41 per cent of Quebecers disagreed and 31 per cent agreed, compared with a mere eight per cent disagreeing and 72 per cent agreeing among other Canadians. The national average was 16 per cent disagreeing and 63 per cent agreeing.

On the idea that “Jews have made an important contribution to society,” 35 per cent of Quebecers disagreed and 41 per cent agreed, compared with only 10 per cent disagreeing and 74 per cent agreeing in the rest of Canada. The Canadian average was 16 per cent disagreeing and 65 per cent agreeing.

The poll sample of 1,500 included 500 Quebecers, and had a margin of error of no more than plus or minus 3.5 per cent 19 times out of 20.

“This is a snapshot of a problem, but it is a problem,” said ACS executive director Jack Jedwab. “I have to say, I wasn’t jumping to release these results. But it is symptomatic of an issue that has to be addressed.”

Jedwab said the reasonable accommodation debates – and some of the intolerant comments about Jews and Muslims that found public voice there – have apparently resonated among a not insignificant number of Quebecers. “Some of the [poll] questions,” Jedwab said, “did come out of the hearings.”

Jedwab said, however, that even though the Quebec figures represent only a “snapshot” of public opinion in the wake of the hearings, the results still reflect the reality of the day. The poll results, he ventured, could become a “self-fulfilling prophecy” over the long term if the provincial government does not begin to put some “real money” into rapprochement initiatives instead of perpetuating the idea that Quebec has been a model for intercultural and inter-ethnic understanding and coexistence.

“We need to rethink the intercultural approach,” he said. “There are four previous polls that do not support the idea that Quebec has had successful intercultural programming. Are we really investing in it?”

Jedwab acknowledged that one possible factor in the disparity between Quebec and the rest of Canada in the question about Jews imposing their customs might be that among francophone Quebecers, the word “imposer” is not necessarily taken to mean “forced upon,” but rather has the sense that something has been excessively “in your face.”

Still, Jedwab said this does not minimize the overall implication of the Quebec numbers in the three questions he felt reflect the sensibility of average Quebecers in the wake of the hearings.

“It resonated in the public domain,” he said.

Among the poll’s other results was that 21 per cent of Canadians agreed and 49 per cent disagreed with the notion that “anti-Semitism is on the rise in Canada” (30 per cent of Quebecers agreed, and 38 per cent disagreed).

Seventeen per cent of Canadians also believe – and 51 per cent do not – that “anti-Semitism is on the rise in my province” (the respective Quebec figures were 31 per cent and 39 per cent).

Forty-three per cent of Canadians said that in the last month, they had been “in contact” with somebody Jewish, while 34 per cent said they had not (the respective figures in Quebec were 28 per cent and 51 per cent).

Asked to agree or disagree with the statement that Jews in Canada comprise a “vulnerable minority,” 24 per cent of Canadians agreed, while 56 per cent said they did not (the respective Quebec figures were 20 per cent and 59 per cent).

To a final statement, “I want to know more about Jewish culture,” 51 per cent of Canadians said yes, and 38 per cent said no, with 38 per cent and 49 per cent the respective Quebec figures.

Jedwab said the ACS poll was conducted in the context of a broader survey being conducted by Eurobarometer during the European Year of International Dialogue.

He said he chose to pose questions using the Jewish community because he thought it could serve as a good “test case” for perceptions of a specific minority group.

However, he dismissed the idea that the three statements that produced such disparate results for Quebec were “loaded” – at least, he said they were no more “loaded” than questions used typically in polling.

Jedwab said some of the statements might not have been as “soft” as others, but insisted they were just as legitimate.

He did not expect to see some of the results that came up. “They jumped at me,” he said.