A poll conducted at the beginning of March by Leger Marketing shows that a majority of Canadians want military spending to be reduced following the end of Canada’s mission in Afghanistan (Thane Burnett, “Canadians want military spending cut back: poll,” Toronto Sun, 5 March 2010).

Almost 60% of those polled felt that “Canada should take a peace dividend and cut back on military spending to focus on other more pressing social issues at home.” Only 28% felt that Canada should “sustain or increase spending on the military because security in a post-9/11 world is of the highest priority.”

Update (10 March): Duelling polls

The DND-funded Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute has just released a poll that they claim shows continued Canadian support for military spending. According to their poll, 41% felt that “Once our military pulls out of Afghanistan, we should reduce our military spending to help reduce our deficit”, while 48% felt that “Once our military pulls out of Afghanistan, we should maintain our military spending so that we are prepared for emergencies like Haiti even if this means cutting in other services to reduce the deficit” (emphasis added).

…Because we all know DND’s $21 billion a year budget goes predominantly to preparing for emergencies like Haiti.