40% Of Nova Scotians Support Cannabis Sales in NSLC

MQO Research spoke with 400 residents of Nova Scotia about the government’s decision to sell cannabis in NSLC locations in the latest edition of our quarterly political poll: Atlantic Matters.

According to our results, 40 percent of Nova Scotians strongly support or support the sale of cannabis in NSLC stores:

40 percent either strongly support or support
34 percent either strongly oppose or oppose
21 percent neither support nor oppose
5 percent don’t know

“More Nova Scotians support this decision than oppose it,” said Stephen Moore, Vice President at MQO. “We see big differences in the level of support based on gender and party preference.”

Males are more supportive than females and Tory voters are far less supportive than other voters:

45 percent of males support the decision compared to 36 percent of females.
49 percent of Liberal voters support the decision compared to 29 percent of PC voters.

We also wanted to understand how the government’s decision impacted perceptions of NSLC’s social responsibility.

We asked, “The NSLC (Nova Scotia Liquor Corporation) has a mandate to be socially responsible with its operations. After learning that NSLC will sell cannabis in current NSLC locations, do you think the company is more socially responsible, less socially responsible, or does it have no impact?”

Our research showed a net positive impact on perceptions of social responsibility:

32 percent said more socially responsible
14 percent said less socially responsible
45 percent said it had no impact
9 percent said don’t know

“On this question, we saw big differences depending on people’s age,” said Moore. “People under 35 years old were far more likely to say it made the NSLC more socially responsible than those 35 and older.”

The Atlantic Matters poll was conducted by telephone from July 16th to July 26th and included 400 randomly selected eligible voters from across the province. The margin of error for the total sample is +/- 4.9 percentage points 19 times out of 20.

About MQO Research

MQO Research is one of Atlantic Canada’s leading market research firms, providing research insights to clients throughout the region and beyond. Our team includes experts in quantitative and qualitative methodologies and program evaluation. MQO subscribes to the highest standards of information gathering and research ethics in the industry in Canada.

For more information on Atlantic Matters or MQO Research, contact:

Tracey Stephenson
[email protected]
Phone: 506-852-7281
Cell: 506-850-8077