Following global conflicts, understanding the situation(s), prospects for peace and perceptions of the UN

March 20, 2024

As several global conflicts continue with no immediate end in sight, the Association for Canadian Studies and the Metropolis Institute commissioned the firm Leger Marketing to survey Canadians and Americans on perceptions around Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s war with Hamas with a focus on the extent to which the conflicts are being followed, whether people feel that they have a good understanding of them and whether or not in each case they are optimistic about the prospects for peace. We also look Canadian and American views of the United Nations. It finds that while most Canadians and Americans have a positive view of the UN, most Canadians and Americans do not trust the UN. The survey reveals a steep drop over the past few months in the extent to which the conflicts are being followed by Canadians, little progress in the extent to which Canadians believe that they have a good understanding of the conflict and diminished optimism about peace prospects.