Canadians’ support for mandatory vaccinations has reached a near-record level. A new poll finds that 72% support requiring kids to be vaccinated in their jurisdiction. This is despite being an overall five percent increase compared to last year. That’s a huge indicator of the enormous, growing grassroots support expanding in favor of the issue. That’s still much lower than the almost 90% approval seen in 2018.
Research Co. ran an online survey from September 10 to September 12, 2025. It reached a national representative sample of 1,003 adults living in Canada. The resulting data has been statistically weighted to Canadian census figures for age, gender, and region. The margin of error is +/- 3.1% points. When you see this result, you can trust it with 95% confidence.
Moreover, approval for mandatory vaccinations has shot up 21 percentage points. A vocal minority remains adamantly opposed to vaccines and so they have long insisted that parents should be able to make vaccination decisions. As it stands, just 23% of Canadians think that parents should be the ones to “definitely” or “probably” decide whether or not to vaccinate their kids. That’s a six-point drop from 2024.
Indeed, research shows that public confidence in vaccines has been shaken by durable misinformation. Over a third of Canadians continue to think that the childhood vaccine for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) causes autism. This assumption continues to be held despite the fact that a now thoroughly discredited study from the late 90s ignited this idea. The perception of risk appears to be gendered. 30% of women and 42% of men surveyed believe in this potential link.
In British Columbia, the provincial health authority is proactively addressing vaccination needs by notifying residents registered in the Get Vaccinated system about upcoming influenza and COVID-19 immunizations. These alerts will start on October 7 and run through November for people six months and older.
Dr. Anna Wolak, a community-oriented family physician based in Vancouver, sees vaccinations as one of the greatest accomplishments in public health for controlling infectious diseases. She stated, “If somebody who was infected with measles and was in the infectious state was in a room, left the room, and say an hour and a half later somebody who was unvaccinated walked into that room, they stood a very high chance of getting measles because it’s that contagious.”
Mario Canseco, president of Research Co. helmet to public safety and community health. He notes, “While support for mandatory childhood vaccinations increased to 72 per cent in 2025, it is still nowhere near the levels observed prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
