TORONTO -- Nearly half of Canadians are opposed to the idea of government subsidies for airlines in the wake of layoffs and route cancellations, according to a new survey from Nanos Research for CTV News.

Air travel is one of the industries most severely hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic, with passenger levels down by more than 90 per cent in Canada.

Major airlines have responded by laying off employees and pulling entire routes from their networks, including WestJet's announcement last month that it is eliminating most of its service to Atlantic Canada.

The industry has warned of far more cuts to come, and is pushing the federal government for financial assistance, including to keep planes flying to and from the North.

On Sunday, the government responded to the plea for assistance by specifying that federal support would hinge on whether or not the airlines provided refunds -- not just credits -- to passengers whose flights were cancelled.

"The air sector cannot respond to these challenges on its own, given the unprecedented impacts on its operations," Transport Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement.  

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic Leblanc told CTV's Question Period last month that the government is considering many options, including taking similar action to Germany, which bailed out Lufthansa in exchange for a 20 per cent stake in the company.

Garneu said Sunday that they would be beginning discussions this week, and that the support could include loans for struggling airlines.

However, the Nanos survey found that Canadians are not enamoured with any form of government assistance, with respondents being three times as likely to say the government should do nothing as to say airlines should be subsidized.

In total, 47 per cent of respondents told Nanos that the government should do nothing in response to airlines cutting back on routes. Support for this option was highest in the Prairies, at 58.8 per cent, and lowest in Quebec, at 32.6 per cent.

Another 21 per cent of respondents said the government should subsidize other modes of transportation, such as buses or Via Rail, while 15 per cent said the government should subsidize the flights that have been cancelled. Seventeen per cent of respondents reported being unsure.

FLYING DURING COVID-19

Nanos also asked respondents how they would feel about travelling by air if new COVID-19 quick-screening procedures reduce the existing 14-day quarantine period.

Canadians were split on this question, with 26 per cent reporting that they would be more interested in flying if that were to happen, 38 per cent saying that they would be as interested, 29 per cent answering that they would be less interested, and seven per cent responding that they were unsure.

Response to this question varied significantly by age. Nearly 33 per cent of respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 said they would be more interested in flying in this scenario, with fewer than 18 per cent saying they would be less interested. Among respondents aged 55 and older, though, 21 per cent said they would be more interested and 37 per cent said they would be less interested.

BLAME FOR TESTING DELAYS

Another question in the survey asked respondents who they think is responsible "when the time between testing and receiving results is too long."

Testing delays have been a recurring theme during the pandemic in different parts of the country. Hours-long waits for tests and days-long waits for results were common in Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba as virus activity ramped up in September, although they seem to have abated somewhat since.

Just under half of all respondents – 49 per cent – said they thought the provincial and federal governments were jointly responsible for the delays. Another 40 per cent said it was solely the responsibility of the province, while five per cent said it was solely the responsibility of the federal government. Seven per cent reported being unsure.

Men were slightly more likely than women to blame both levels of government or the federal government alone, while respondents between the ages of 18 and 34 were more likely than other age groups to set the blame at the feet of the provinces.

Geographically, 47 per cent of respondents from Quebec said it was only the responsibility of the provincial government – more than respondents from any other region. The lowest score by that measure came from British Columbia, where 33 per cent of respondents blamed the province alone.

METHODOLOGY

These results are part of an omnibus survey that Nanos Research conducted between Oct. 28 and Nov. 1, via an RDD dual frame (landlines and cell phones) hybrid telephone and online random survey of 1,039 Canadians, 18 years of age or older.

Participants were randomly recruited by telephone using live agents and administered a survey online. The results were statistically checked and weighted by age and gender using the latest census information, and the sample is geographically stratified to be representative of Canada.

The margin of error for this survey is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

The study was commissioned by CTV News and the research was conducted by Nanos Research.

With files from Alexandra Mae Jones