When Research Co. began tracking the perceptions of Canadians on the death penalty in 2020, just over half of the country’s residents (51 per cent) expressed a desire to bring back capital punishment for murder cases.

Six years later, our collective perceptions have hardened. For the first time, we are twice as likely to find a Canadian who supports reinstating the death penalty for murder in Canada (60 per cent, up four points since 2025) than to talk to one who opposes its return (30 per cent, down two points).

While men are still more likely to endorse a return of capital punishment in Canada for murder cases (63 per cent, up three points), the proportion of women who back this option increased markedly (58 per cent, up 10 points). Canadians aged 18 to 34 (61 per cent, up 10 points) and aged 55 and over (also 61 per cent, up five points) are also on board, along with 59 per cent (up four points) of their counterparts aged 35 to 54.

Western Canadians, who have been listening to politicians at the federal, provincial and municipal levels complain about lax sentencing guidelines, are in a league of their own. Practically two-thirds of Albertans (65 per cent, up six points) are in favour of the death penalty in murder cases, along with slightly higher proportions of B.C. residents (67 per cent, up eight points) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (67 per cent, up 13 points). The numbers are lower in Ontario (62 per cent, up seven points), Atlantic Canada (55 per cent, down five points) and Quebec (50 per cent, up five points).

It is not a surprise to see almost four in five Canadians who voted for the Conservative party in the last federal election (78 per cent, up three points) backing the return of capital punishment. They are joined this year by majorities of Canadians who supported the New Democratic Party (NDP) (55 per cent, up four points) or the Liberal party (53 per cent, up five points) in 2025.

As was the case last year, majorities of Canadians whose heritage is Indigenous (56 per cent, down seven points), European (58 per cent, up five points), East Asian (63 per cent, up two points) or South Asian (68 per cent, up two points) are also in favour of bringing back the death penalty for murder.

Opponents of capital punishment most often cite the risk about a person wrongly convicted and executed (66 per cent, up five points). Smaller proportions of opponents want murderers to do their time in prison (49 per cent, up nine points), feel it is wrong to take a murderer’s life as punishment (35 per cent, down six points), believe having the death penalty in the books would not serve as a deterrent for potential murderers (39 per cent, up three points) and think murderers can be rehabilitated (18 per cent, unchanged).

More than half of capital punishment supporters think the sentence fits the crime (56 per cent, up seven points). They also believe reinstating the death penalty would deter prospective criminals (52 per cent, unchanged). Fewer also cite providing closure to the families of murder victims (49 per cent, up seven points), saving money and the costs associated with having murderers in prison (46 per cent, unchanged) and a belief that murderers cannot be rehabilitated (31 per cent, up five points).

Canadians responded about which of two approaches they would prefer as a punishment for convicted murderers in Canada. This year, almost half (49 per cent) choose life imprisonment, while almost two in five (39 per cent) select the death penalty. The gap between the two options is the lowest we have seen in seven rounds of yearly polling.

At this point, no well-established political party has advocated for the return of capital punishment in Canada. Reinstating the death penalty would represent both a significant challenge on a constitutional level and a problem on the international stage.

Still, exposure to stories related to repeat offenders have made Canadians of all ages lose faith in the justice system. The gap between carrying on with the guidelines that Canada has relied upon for decades and allowing for the execution of murderers—something only 17 countries on the planet did in 2025—stood at 20 points just two years ago. It is now down to 10 points.

Mario Canseco is president of Research Co.

Methodology: Results are based on an online survey conducted from June 4-6, 2026, among 1,001 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.