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A 2008 study in Canada with adolescents and their parents of Caribbean and of Filipino heritage found that 78% of the 118 Caribbean parents interviewed and 42% of the 136 Filipino parents interviewed thought that they should have the “right” to physically punish their children, while adolescents disagreed.
(Hassan, G. et al, 2008, “Caribbean and Filipino adolescents' and parents' perceptions of parental authority, physical punishment, and cultural values and their relation to migratory characteristics”, Canadian Ethnic Studies, vol. 40, no. 2, pp. 171 - 186)
In a sample of mothers of preschoolers in Manitoba, 59% reported having used physical punishment in the previous two weeks.
(Ateah, C. & Durrant, J. E., 2005, “Maternal use of physical punishment in response to child misbehavior: Implications for child abuse prevention”, Child Abuse & Neglect, 29, pp.177-193)
A survey of 1,000 people in an SES/Sun Media poll in January 2004 found that 64% support the use of force such as spanking by parents to discipline a child, though a wide majority oppose physical force being used by others. Support for spanking as a reasonable measure was highest in the West at 71% and Ontario at 62%. The lowest support was Quebec at 47%. Only 7% supported criminal charges for parents who spank their children; 7% also said that children should be removed from homes where their parents used spanking as corporal punishment; 5% supported both these measures.
(“Spanking poll backs ruling”, Winnipeg Sun, Manitoba, 1 February 2004)
In a sample of mothers of preschoolers in Manitoba and Ontario, 70% reported having used physical punishment at some time; one-third of those who used it did so at least once per week.
(Durrant, J. E., Rose-Krasnor, L. & Broberg, A., 2003, “Maternal beliefs about physical punishment in Sweden and Canada”, Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 34, pp.586-604)
A national postal survey of households with children under the age of 6, completed by 1,643 parents (698 married mothers, 698 married fathers and 247 single mothers), was carried out in 1998-1999. Overall, 51% of parents reported using physical punishment occasionally or more often (1% “frequent”, 39% “rarely”, 11% “sometimes”); 49% reported never using it. There was no difference between mothers and fathers in the use of corporal punishment, but single mothers were less likely to use it than married parents, and parents with low education were more likely to use it than those with high levels of education. It was more often used for children aged 1-5 years, but 40% of parents of infants under the age of one year reported using physical punishment on their babies.
(Oldershaw, L., 2002, A national survey of parents of young children, Toronto: Invest in Kids Foundation)
A 2002 survey found that 50% of parents reported that they or their spouse had “inflicted light corporal punishment, like a slap” on their children; 6% reported that they or their spouse had “inflicted painful corporal punishment”.
(Canadian Press and Leger Marketing, 2002, Child Abuse Report, Montreal, PQ: Canadian Press and Leger Marketing)