Proud to be Canadian? Tory voters less likely to say yes than others: poll – National
As with most things these days, Canadian pride in their nationality seems to be split between partisans, a new poll suggests.
In Léger’s survey, an overwhelming majority of 81% of the 1,512 respondents said they were proud to be Canadian, but that sentiment was more pronounced among Conservatives than Liberals. Findings suggest that it is not common in
Experts say the findings, which may be surprising given the party’s reputation as a patriotic party, reflect Conservative dissatisfaction with the direction Canada is headed.
In the poll, 97% of those who listed their voting intentions as Liberal said they were very or somewhat proud to be Canadian, as were 87% of NDP-leaning respondents. The figure dropped among Conservative voters, with only 76% of them saying yes.
Of the 30 respondents who said they would vote for the Canadian People’s Party (PPC), even fewer, just 45%, said they were proud to be Canadian.
“Conservatism is often associated with patriotism, isn’t it?” said Daniel Belland, director of the McGill Institute of Canada. “In this case, it is not, because there is dissatisfaction with the federal government, federal policy, and perhaps even the direction the country is headed.”
Six percent of all respondents said they were not proud of being Canadian at all. But among Conservative respondents, the figure was 8%. Twelve percent of those who voted for separatist Bloc Quebec and 27 percent of PPC voters said they were not proud of being Canadian at all.
“When you think, ‘Are you proud to be Canadian?’, ‘Are you proud to be under the leadership of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau? ‘Some people are thinking,'” Belland said.
He said the enumerated reasons for what they are proud of or not proud of provide a further glimpse into what’s going on.
Conservative voters were most likely to cite Canada’s natural beauty and scenery as a reason for national pride, with 47% of them saying so. And 35% of them said that universal coverage contributes to their pride.
Fifty-five percent of Liberal respondents said they were proud of universal health care, as did 53 percent of New Democrats.
However, there was a limit to how much a universal health insurance could make people proud.
Thirty-eight percent of all respondents said the current state of the healthcare system is the reason they are not proud to be Canadian. 40% of Conservatives said the same, as did 37% of Liberals and National Democrats.
This points to nuances in how Canadians think about national pride, said Howard Ramos, dean of the Western University Sociology Department.
“It is very important to distinguish that when someone says they are not proud to be Canadian, it does not mean they are not patriotic. It is because they believe this country is right. It could mean that they see it going in a different direction than it is,” Ramos said.
He said people can be patriotic and feel loyalty and devotion to their country without being proud to be Canadian.
Ramos said the fact that conservatives in particular are less likely to be proud reflects the isolation they have expressed in recent years.
The reaction to political divisions is similar. Twenty percent of Conservative voters said such a split would not make them proud to be Canadian, as did 21 percent of Liberals and 18 percent of National Democrats.
Meanwhile, 46% of Liberals say the rise of political extremism is the reason they are not proud to be Canadian, as do 29% of Conservatives and 36% of New Democrats.
Fewer Conservatives cite it as a reason than left-wing respondents, but Ramos said it was still a big part and he was paying attention.
“I think it’s very important for us to take a moment and look at the debate as a country,” he said. “There is time to correct course.”
He cited the example of Progressive Conservative Ontario Premier Doug Ford offering an olive branch to former NDP MP and Toronto mayor-elect Olivia Chow.
Ford initially said Chau’s leadership of Canada’s most populous city would be an “unmitigated disaster.” But once she was elected, Ramos backtracked, saying it was an example of the kind of course correction we should all be working on.
“We both sat down and looked for common ground,” Ramos said. “Now is the time for us as a country to step back and look at one of the reasons people are not proud of themselves: the tone, the alienation, the extremism that may exist on social media and elsewhere. about our public debates. “
Leger’s survey was conducted online from June 23 to 25 and was weighted according to age, gender, native language, region, education and the presence of children in the household.
The Canadian Research Insights Council, a professional body for the polling industry, says it cannot assign a margin of error because online surveys do not sample populations at random.
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