Most Montrealers don’t support Bill 21

A new study on Islamophobia by the Angus Reid Institute has found that 57% of Quebecers support Bill 21, including a minority of people in Montreal (46%). 69% of those in the rest of Quebec support the bill.

Bill 21, introduced in 2019 by the Legault government, prohibits the wearing of religious symbols like hijabs, yarmulkes, turbans and crosses by public servants in Quebec.

“Passed in 2019, recent research has shown that Bill 21 has, in fact, increased feelings of alienation and discomfort among Muslims in Quebec. The law continues to be supported by more than half in the province (57%). Overall, outside of Quebec the concept of Bill 21 is unpopular (25%).”

Support for Bill 21 generally increases the more uneducated one is. A majority of university graduates in Quebec (55%) and in the rest of Canada (84%) fail to support the bill.

The study also found that Montrealers (46%) were less likely to have negative views of Islam than those in the rest of Quebec (66%). A majority of Montrealers also support the wearing of the hijab in public spaces.

“In Greater Montreal, support for the wearing of the hijab in public spaces rises to 63%; it drops to 46% in the rest of Quebec.”

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