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4 in 5 Canadians believe aliens could exist: poll

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[About 80 per cent of Canadians believe intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe, according to an Angus Reid poll. YAHOO NEWS]

This week’s announcement of the discovery of an Earth-like planet orbiting Proxima Centauri, the sun’s nearest neighbour, raised the exciting possibility that there may be another planet that can support life. So is there anything out there? Four out of five or 79 per cent of Canadians would say there is, a new poll suggests.

Fifty per cent say that it’s probably true that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe and 29 per cent believe that’s definitely the case, according to the results of a new poll released by Angus Reid on Wednesday. The number was consistent across different age groups.

We’ve got good company in our beliefs. Earlier polls done in the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany also found that a majority of people believe extraterrestrial life exists. The Angus Reid poll is an online survey of 1,515 people conducted between Feb. 22 and 25, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

But while a majority of Canadians think aliens might be out there, most of the poll’s respondents were skeptical about the possibility that they’ve visited Earth. Only 11 per cent of respondents say that it was definitely true that extraterrestrial beings had already visited our planet, and 36 per cent say it was probably true. And 57 per cent of Canadians don’t believe that the American government has participated in covering up past visits by alien life.

Some beliefs showed a gender divide in the polling. Women were about twice as likely as men to say that ghosts, psychic powers and the ability to communicate with the dead exist. But men and women were equally likely to believe (or not believe) that aliens have visited Earth.

Opinions on supernatural and extraterrestrial beings were also divided based on education level. University graduates were far less likely to believe we’ve been visited by E.T., compared to non-graduates: only seven per cent of degree holders say past visits have definitely happened.

The final indicator of a split in beliefs is one not tested in most polls: “X-Files” fandom. Among the biggest fans of the iconic sci-fi show, 71 per cent believe that aliens have visited us. Other surveys and research have found in the past that there were three or four reported UFO sightings in Canada every day.

But believing in the possibility of aliens doesn’t translate into hunting for Bigfoot or keeping eyes peeled for the Ogopogo, the poll found. Three-quarters of the respondents say they don’t believe in “cryptids” — animals not proven to exist, like Sasquatch or Loch Ness, Angus Reid found.

The poll indicated that Canadians are less likely to believe in the existence of ghosts than aliens. Only 30 per cent of respondents said they believe that people who die with unfinished business return to Earth as ghosts, and about the same number believe there are ways to communicate with the dead.