The poll, conducted in conjunction with the University of Alberta, revealed growing sentiment against Chinese Canadians across the country, in large part provoked by negative coverage from the mainstream media that blame the spread of the virus with the Chinese Canadian community.
"When those who have ever experienced these encounters over the last three months are totaled, fully two-thirds of Chinese Canadians (64 percent) have faced at least some level of disrespect during COVID-19, while half (50 percent) reported being called names or otherwise insulted and two-in-five have been intimidated or threatened (43 percent)", the findings said.
The majority of respondents - 64 percent - also said that mainstream media coverage negatively affected Canadians’ perception of their fellow nationals of Chinese ancestry. A further 81 percent said that media coverage has adversely portrayed China, including 34 percent who believe the effect has been very negative.
Chinese Canadians said the tense atmosphere has led them to change part of their routines to avoid unpleasant encounters and a sizeable share - 24 percent - say they "feel like an outsider in Canada".
According to the poll, over half of the 500 respondents believe that Asian children are going to be bullied when they return to school due to the pandemic.
As of 22 June, more than 101,000 people have tested positive for the novel virus, while 8,430 patients have died from the disease, the National Health Ministry reports.
