MONTREAL -- Quebecers are less afraid of COVID-19 than other Canadians and are more open to loosening pandemic-related restrictions for people under 65, according to a new poll.

According to the survey, conducted by Leger in partnership with the Association for Canadian Studies and released on Tuesday, 51 per cent of Quebecers said they're afraid of getting the virus, compared to 64 per cent of Ontarians, 55 per cent of Manitobans, Saskatchewanians and Albertans, 59 per cent of residents of the Maritime provinces and 52 per cent of British Columbians.

French-speakers were even less likely to be afraid, with 47 per cent saying they were at least a little fearful. Fifty-nine per cent of Canadian English-speakers said they were at least somewhat afraid.

In total, 57 per cent of Canadians polled said they were at least a little afraid of contracting the virus.

Ten per cent of Quebecers said they weren't afraid at all of contracting COVID-19, just under the 11 per cent response fo all of Canada.

Less than one per cent of those polled said they have already been exposed to COVID-19 but Quebecers were the most likely to personally know someone who had been diagnosed at 24 per cent. Another 65 per cent said they were scared of a family member contracting the disease, compared to 68 per cent nationally.

The province's residents were also more open to loosening restrictions on people under the age of 65, with 19 per cent saying they strongly support the idea and 42 per cent saying they somewhat support it.

Nineteen per cent said they somewhat oppose loosening restrictions and 12 per cent said they strongly oppose it. Nationally, 14 per cent of Canadians strongly support loosening restrictions, 32 per cent somewhat support and 21 per cent somewhat oppose and 23 per cent strongly oppose.

According to the Association for Canadian Studies, no margin of error can be associated with the poll.