Almost 30% Of Canadians Broke COVID-19 Restrictions & Here's Why They're Not Even Sorry

If you ignored mask rules or gathered in a large group during the pandemic, you're apparently not the only one!

That's because almost 30% of Canadians broke at least one of Canada's COVID-19 rules, according to a brand new study.

The survey — which was conducted by the Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research at the University of Saskatchewan — found that 29% of surveyed Canadians ignored at least one COVID-19 public health order.

Of those who broke rules, 62% said they believe their decision to break the rules was "justified."

The most common rules respondents broke are related to mask-wearing and gathering limits, according to The Canadian Press via Global News.

Per the study, 27% said they were prepared to disregard the rules in order to see their friends and family, while 17% said they felt they violated restrictions "in a safe way."

Some (21%) said they only ignored rules they didn't think made sense, and others (7%) simply said they don't believe the pandemic exists at all.

The research also found that some people did not think regulations "made sense for them" because they were fully vaccinated and they felt what they were doing was safe given their status.

Who has been breaking the rules?

Different demographics were more likely to ignore the rules, according to the research.

It found that younger people broke the restrictions more often, while residents of Quebec and the Prairies were more likely to disregard indoor gathering limits.

What else did the research find?

The study also considered where Canadians were getting their COVID-19 news from.

It concluded that 35% of people were informed about the pandemic via social media, using Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in particular.

The largest number of people overall (88%) told researchers that they consumed news from online outlets or the TV, while 70% said they also used government websites, too.