Sask. survey looks at neighbours before and during COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything in society, and our relationships with our neighbours areno exception.

A recent Saskatchewan survey set out to find out just how they've changed.

While neighbours in Saskatchewan are used to gathering for barbecues, dinner parties, babysitting, or just sharing a friendly chat or handshake, that all changed after March 2020.

Neighbours have had to maintain physical distancing for more than a year, they have to wear masks, and indoor gatherings have at times been restricted by the provincial government.

Despite all of this, things might not have changed as much as some might suspect.

The Canadian Hub for Applied and Social Research (CHASR) at the University of Saskatchewan conducted a survey in collaboration with CBC Saskatchewan.

The first survey was done in December 2019, prior to the pandemic arriving in Saskatchewan. The second was completed in March 2021. Each survey included 400 participants.

How often do you talk to your neighbours?

One question asked in the survey was: "On average, how often do you talk to neighbours who live close to you?"

For the most part, the data in December 2019 was similar to what respondents said in March 2021. However, there was one enlightening difference: More people said they went from talking with neighbours a few times a week to a few times per year.

In December 2019, almost halfof respondents 44.4 per cent said they talked to neighbours "a few times per week."

In March 2021, that dropped to 33.7 per cent. As well, the number who said theyonly talked with neighbours "afew times per year" shot up from 9.7 per cent prior to the pandemic to 21.8 per cent in 2021.

Do you know the names of your neighbours?

The pandemic doesn't appear to have affected people knowing their neighbours by name. Andthe survey suggests most people in Saskatchewan know them all.

The question asked: "Of the neighbours who live close to you, how many do you know by their first name?"

Both before and during the pandemic, the largest numberof respondents said "all." In fact, that number rose slightly from 33.4 per cent pre-pandemic to 36.5 per cent during.

Both times, about 10 per cent of people said they didn't know any of their neighbours by name.

Has the pandemic changed your relationship?

The most obvious way to find out how the pandemic has affected neighbour relationships is to flat out ask people.

In the March 2021 survey, we asked: "Has the COVID-19 pandemic changed your relationship with your neighbours?"

The majority of respondentsby far 73.3 per cent said "No, it's the same." However, the next closest answer at 22.1 per cent was "Yes, it's gotten worse."

Neighbours can mean a lot

CBC's Peter Mills asked people on Twitter to talk about their relationships with neighbours in Saskatchewan and the stories flooded in:

How is your relationship with your neighbours? Share your stories by emailing peter.mills@cbc.ca or tweet @TweeterMillsCBC. Follow The Neighbourhood Project for more stories and the Nominate Your Neighbour contest running from June 1 to 11.