OTTAWA - A new poll suggests almost two-thirds of Canadians believe the Russian invasion of Ukraine has the potential to develop into a world war.

Just over half of those surveyed backed the idea of Canada providing military support for Ukraine against Russia as part of a joint North Atlantic Treaty Organization force.

The online survey of 1,519 Canadians and 1,004 Americans was conducted by Leger from Feb. 25 to 27, just after Moscow's attack began.

The survey cannot be assigned a margin of error because internet-based polls are not considered truly random samples.

Perhaps not surprisingly, 89 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they were somewhat or very concerned about Russia invading Ukraine.

Asked which side they supported in the conflict, 83 per cent of Canadians said Ukraine, compared with 71 per cent of Americans who backed the target of Moscow's assault.