Discussions about the death penalty across Canada re-emerged in an unexpected setting: the Ontario provincial election campaign. Earlier this month, Ontario Premier Doug Ford appeared to discuss the punishment for home invaders who killed an innocent person by saying he would “send them right to Sparky”—a not-so-veiled reference to the electric chair.
Ford’s spokesperson ultimately acknowledged the premier’s “poor-taste joke” – but the perceptions of Canadians on a punishment that has not been in the books since 1976 can fluctuate wildly, depending on the question and the frame of mind of respondents.
Since 2020, Research Co. has been asking a battery of questions about the death penalty to Canadians on a yearly basis. This month, more than three in four (77 per cent) think capital punishment is “always appropriate” (14 per cent, unchanged since 2024) or “sometimes appropriate” (53 per cent, also unchanged). Only one in four Canadians (24 per cent, down two points) think of the death penalty as “never appropriate.”
In each of our surveys, we have seen at least 50 per cent of Canadians supporting the reinstatement of the death penalty for murder in Canada. This year, 54 per cent of Canadians are in favour of bringing back capital punishment—a three-point drop from 2024 and the same proportion we reported in the 2023 survey.
Opposition to the return of capital punishment for murder stands at 32 per cent, down three points since 2024 and the lowest number recorded in six annual polls. An additional 14 per cent of Canadians (up five points) are undecided.
On a regional basis, reinstating the death penalty for murder is particularly popular in Atlantic Canada (60 per cent), followed by Alberta (59 per cent), British Columbia (also 59 per cent), Ontario (55 per cent), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (54 per cent), and Quebec (45 per cent).
Three in four Canadians who voted for the Conservative Party in the 2021 federal election (75 per cent) are in favour of the return of capital punishment, along with 51 per cent of those who cast ballots for the New Democratic Party (NDP) and 48 per cent of those who supported the Liberal Party. There is little difference along ethnic lines, with majorities of Canadians whose descent is European (53 per cent), East Asian (61 per cent), Indigenous (63 per cent) or South Asian (66 per cent) voicing support for the death penalty in murder cases.
More than half of capital punishment supporters in Canada believe it would serve as a deterrent for potential murderers (52 per cent), while slightly fewer think the sentence fits the crime (49 per cent) and welcome the possibility of saving taxpayer money and the costs associated with having murderers in prison (46 per cent, and climbing to 54 per cent among Canadians aged 55 and over).
Conversely, just over three in five opponents of the death penalty (61 per cent) are concerned about a person being wrongly convicted and executed, while about two in five disagree with the “eye for an eye” rationale (41 per cent) or would prefer for murderers to do their time in prison, as indicated by a judge (40 per cent).
A separate question asks Canadians about two choices. More than half (53 per cent, down two points) continue to prefer life imprisonment without the possibility of parole as a punishment for convicted murderers in Canada, while 35 per cent (unchanged) would implement the death penalty.
In this scenario, support for capital punishment falls in Alberta (39 per cent), British Columbia (38 per cent), Atlantic Canada (also 38 per cent), Ontario (37 per cent), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (also 37 per cent), and Quebec (26 per cent).
A “tough on crime” approach is expected to be part of the Conservative Party’s messaging in the next federal election. The concept of mandatory minimum sentences worked well for former prime minister Stephen Harper, even if some of the guidelines implemented by his government have since lost legal challenges. As the country re-evaluates its options on federal politics, Canadians aged 55 and over who support the death penalty are more likely to see it as a “cost-saver” than their younger counterparts. While nothing suggests current Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre will incorporate the return of capital punishment to his platform, some of the most reliable voters appear preoccupied with money, not moral dilemmas.
There has been consistency in these findings throughout the decade. We usually go from about three in four Canadians defending the appropriateness of the death penalty, to more than half who would welcome its reinstatement in murder cases, to more than a third who still see it as a better option than life imprisonment without parole. A significant proportion of Canadians have not closed the door, even if this final number is not enough to anticipate legislative change.
Mario Canseco is president of Research Co.
Results are based on an online survey conducted from Feb. 16-18, 2025, among 1,002 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
