OTTAWA -- The terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 have left a lasting imprint of fear and economic difficulty on portions of Canadian society, with 40 per cent of citizens saying the catastrophe has changed their lives permanently.

The results of an Ipsos-Reid poll undertaken for The Globe and Mail/CTV illustrate that Canadians in varying numbers are more afraid of flying, increasingly insecure and have a greater appreciation for family and friends. A small number agreed with a question that asked if they were more suspicious of people, minority groups and Arabs, while others said their economic station in life had been affected.

The poll also found, however, that 84 per cent of Canadians have returned to the routines they pursued prior to Sept. 11.

"The impact in this is mainly in the details," said John Wright, senior vice-president of the firm.

"People are still suffering seriously, ranging from the mental impact right through to being scared to travel. They've returned to a routine as best as they know, but for 40 per cent of this country, they're carrying significant baggage."

In the poll, which was taken between Aug. 27 and Aug. 29, 40 per cent said they strongly or somewhat agree that their lives have been changed in a lasting way since the terrorist attacks, while the other 60 per cent do not.

Of the group who said their lives had altered, 29 per cent said they had either cancelled travel plans or were afraid of airline travel.

Another 24 per cent of the affected group said they have become more alert of what's going on around them, while 19 per cent said they were more nervous and insecure.

Mr. Wright added, however, that the poll shows that 84 per cent of Canadians have gone back to the routines of daily life, settling into previous family and work patterns. He said other polls demonstrate that the country as a whole took three months to return to the public agenda that existed before last Sept. 11.

"There is a point where people are no longer continually shocked by things," he said. "They take them, they absorb them, they recalculate them and they move forward."

The poll also found that 11 per cent of those who said they had been affected said they were suspicious of people, minority groups and/or Arabs and another 12 per cent said the events had an economic impact on them. About 3 per cent indicated that they have been mentally or emotionally affected by the events.

Mr. Wright said that, while the percentages may seem small, when extrapolated into raw numbers, it can be assumed that more than 1.1 million people had their economic livelihoods affected. He suggested that changes at the border regulating the flow of goods between Canada and the United States may be the cause of the change.

He also said that the 3 per cent who were mentally affected translates into about 250,000 Canadians. Those numbers could rise as the United States considers an attack on Iraq.

"People, because of what has happened, are in a heightened state of anxiety. The issues with Iraq will be troubling to them," he said.

Mr. Wright said there is almost nothing in the recent past to compare the results with, save perhaps the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962.

On a regional basis, the poll found that women were more likely than men to say they were affected by the events, while people in Atlantic Canada, Alberta and British Columbia said they were more changed than those in other provinces. Mr. Wright also predicted that many Canadians will not to revisit the events of last year through the various media commemorations being prepared for this week.

The poll surveyed 1,000 adults and is considered accurate to within 3.1 percentage points, 95 per cent of the time.