Favourable opinions of Muslims increased by 22 points following the Jan. 29, 2017 massacre at the Quebec City mosque that killed six, according to a poll by Léger for the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS) shows.
Only 28 per cent of Quebecers viewed Muslims positively in March 2016. But a year later, following the massacre, half of Quebecers said they had a positive opinion of Muslims.
The wave of sympathy after the attack caused a major shift in public opinion, said Jack Jedwab, president of the ACS.
“It clearly made a lot of people who hold negative views on Muslims rethink their views,” he noted.