Despite majority support to legalize pot, nearly half of Canadians want to delay July 1 implementation date

It’s policy crunch time across Canada. With a July 1, 2018 deadline looming for provinces to have a plan in place for marijuana legalization, some government officials have admittedly been scrambling and publicly calling out Ottawa over a timeline they say they aren’t able to meet. A new Angus Reid Institute study finds more than half of Canadians – including six-in-ten in Quebec and Ontario - say that they aren’t sure their provincial government will be ready in time.

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Further, despite two-thirds support for legalization, nearly half want Ottawa to push back the legalization date to give provincial governments more time to prepare. This is not the case, however, on Canada’s coasts. Seven-in-ten each in Atlantic Canada and BC say the timeline should stay in place. More Key Findings:

• Close to half of Canadians (47%) say the federal government should push back the timeline for legalization, led by two-thirds of past Conservatives (68%). A majority of Liberal (67%) and NDP (57%) voters disagree.
• Four-in-ten Canadians (41%) say that the government’s $1.00 per gram excise tax was the right amount to add on top of existing sales taxes. Many people feel that there should be no excise tax (22%) or that the tax is too high (16%). One-in-five say they would have opted for more than $1 (22%).
• Asked about the government’s plan to split the revenue 50/50 between the provincial and federal governments, most Canadians (56%) agree with the arrangement. Four-in-ten (40%) however, say the provinces should get a greater share of revenues.

Link to the poll here: Download .PDF (1 MB) with detailed tables, graphs and methodology. Media Contact: Shachi Kurl: shachi.kurl@angusreid.org @shachikurl

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