Almost half of Canadians say they have seen systemic racism in their province: poll

OTTAWA - Almost half of Canadians polled say they have observed evidence of systemic racism in their province, a new survey suggests.

The Leger poll of 1,627 people, conducted between Aug. 29 and 31 for the Association for Canadian Studies, says 49 per cent of Canadians reported having observed evidence of systemic racism — racism embedded in government and social systems and laws — in their province.

The poll, which was conducted online and can't be assigned a margin of error, suggests that 37 per cent of those polled said they hadn't observed evidence of systemic racism in their province, while 14 per cent said they didn't know or preferred not to answer.

Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies, said the number of people reporting systemic racism was "a