Over 100 people took part in two anti-racism walks in Brandon Thursday (June 11).
They gathered at Princess Park, where many took to the stage to express their feelings about racism and discrimination.
In a new poll by Abacus Data, for CityNews, more than two-thirds of Canadians believe discrimination is common in this country – another 61% think systemic or institutional racism also exists.
Abacus examined the way Canadians see discrimination and racism, as anti-Black racism protests continue across the world in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis more than two weeks ago.
In Quebec and the Atlantic provinces, just over 50% think systemic racism exists in Canada, meaning there are barriers or obstacles for people of some races that don’t exist for others. The number was higher in in Ontario and Alberta at around 65%.
The poll found respondents think Muslims, Black people, Transgender and Indigenous people were most likely to experience discrimination, with more than 75% of Canadians believing they experience discrimination in society.
The Abacus Data survey randomly sampled 1,750 Canadian adults between June 5-10 and is considered accurate to within plus or minus 2.31 percentage points.
A similar poll was conducted back in 2016 and since then, those thinking Black people were likely to experience “a lot of” discrimination increased by 9%, Indigenous people by 7%, and people of Asian descent increased 6%.
Those thinking Muslims were likely to experience “a lot of” discrimination decreased by 9%.
