Forum Celebrates Canada 150 With a Convincingly Canadian
Poll
Toronto, June 30th
– In celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday, Forum Research, using
its well-known Forum Poll, conducted a survey amongst 1620 Canadian voters; respondents
were asked about their thoughts on the most Canadian food and animal, as well
as questions testing their knowledge of Canada’s government and territory,
amongst many others.
Forum is so
fortunate to be headquartered in the greatest country on earth.
We hope you enjoy
the results.
Confusion amongst Canadians on the country’s head of state
Fewer than one-third
(28%) can correctly identify Canada’s head of state as Her Majesty the Queen. Fewer
than one third, though statistically tied with the Queen, (31%) identifies the
Canadian head of government, the Prime Minister.
2 in 10 (21%) said
the Governor General is Canada’s official head of state, while fewer than 1 in
10 identified the Lieutenant Governor (9%) as the head of state. (12%) said
they do not know.
Respondents most
likely to correctly identify The Queen as the official Canadian head of state
include those earning $60,000-$80,000 (31%), $80,000-$100,000 (34%), or the
most wealthy (33%), living in Ontario (33%), Manitoba/Saskatchewan (32%), or BC
(35%), supporting the NDP (36%) or Green Party (37%), and with a college or
university (31%) or post-graduate degree (34%).
A third think Northwest Territory is largest in Canada
But only (14%) can
correctly identify that it’s actually Nunavut that is the largest province or
territory in the country.
A third (32%) said
Northwest Territory, fewer than 2 in 10 identified each of Quebéc (18%) or
Ontario (18%) as the largest, but few thought either BC (3%) or Yukon (3%) was
the biggest.
Respondents most
likely to correctly identify Nunavut as Canada’s largest province or territory
include those 34 and younger (22%), the most wealthy (21%), living in the
Atlantic provinces (20%), with a university/college (17%) or post-graduate
degree (17%).
Respondents reached
on a mobile phone (18%) were almost twice as likely to correctly identify
Nunavut than those reached on a landline (10%).
Three quarters know MP stands for Member of Parliament
(73%) were able to
correctly identify that MP stands for member of parliament. Just over 1 in 10
thought (11%) it stood for Minister of Parliament, few thought it stood for
member of politics (3%), and almost no-one (0%) thought it stood for master of
parades.
Respondents most
likely to correctly identify member of parliament include those aged 55-64
(77%) and 65+ (76%), males (76%), earning $80,000-$100,000 (90%), living in
Alberta (89%), supporting the Conservatives (76%) or Liberals (77%), and with a
post-graduate degree (83%).
Canadians apologize. A lot. Sorry about that.
Canadians were asked how often they say sorry. The plurality, almost
4 in 10, (38%) respond they say sorry at least daily, with just under 2 in 10
(17%) responding they say sorry hourly.
Just under a quarter (22%) say they apologize 3-5 per week, while
(18%) say they apologize a times per month.
A stubborn (5%) say they never say sorry.
People living in
Canada, mostly identify themselves as Canadian first
Almost two-thirds (62%) identify themselves first by their country,
for example “I am Canadian.” Fewer than a quarter (21%) identify themselves
first by their province, for example, I am an Ontarian. Just over 1 in 10 (14%)
identify themselves first by their city, for example “I am a Winnepeger.”
Respondents most likely to identify as Canadians first include those
aged 55-64 (66%) or 65+ (68%), the most wealthy (72%), living in Ontario (74%)
or BC (73%), supporting the Conservative Party (69%), and with a post-graduate
degree (68%).
Respondents most likely to identify first with their province
include those aged 35-44 (24%) or 45-54 (22%), earning $20,000-$40,000 (26%) or
$40,000-$60,000 (24%), living in Québec (42%), and supporting the BQ (66%).
Respondents most likely to identify first with their city include
the least wealthy (16%), earning $40,000-$60,000 (17%) or $80,000-$100,000
(17%), living in the Atlantic Provinces (17%) or Québec (15%), and supporting
the Liberals (15%) or NDP (17%).
Maple Syrup described
as the most Canadian food
Just under two-thirds (62%) say maple syrup
is the most Canadian food. Poutine is a distant second with just over 1 in 10
(14%). It’s followed by bacon (8%), beer (5%), other (5%), donuts (4%), and
rounded out by ketchup chips (2%).
Canadians not
homebodies, most have visited at least one other province or territory
In a very broad base, more than 9 in 10 (92%)
said they have visited at least one other Canadian Province or Territory. Only
(8%) have traveled through their own province only.
|
|
% total*
|
|
Your own province only
|
8
|
|
1 other
|
15
|
|
2 others
|
12
|
|
3 others
|
11
|
|
4 others
|
12
|
|
5 others
|
13
|
|
6-7 others
|
10
|
|
8-9 others
|
10
|
|
10-12 others
|
8
|
*may not add up to 100 due to rounding
Just under a third say
William Shatner most famous living actor
(29%) said that William Shatner, iconic for
his portrayal of Captain James T. Kirk in Star Trek, is Canada’s most famous
living actor. Just under a quarter (21%) said it was Jim Carrey.
Academy Award winner Christopher Plummer
received (15%). Ryan Reynolds (12%) and Ryan Gosling (11%) round out the top
five.
Also submitted for consideration by Canadians
were Keanu Reeves (7%), Rachel McAdams 3%), and Sarah Polley (2%).
Canadian hearts still
go on for Celine
More than 4 in 10 (41%) say Celine Dion is Canada’s most famous
living musician. Justin Bieber (14%) is a distant second, followed by Neil
Young (12%), and Bryan Adams (11%).
Clustered in a statistical tie are Drake (8%), Shania Twain (8%),
and Anne Murray (7%). The Weeknd (2%) rounds out the list.
Trudeau Sr. seen as
greatest PM, followed by Sir John A. MacDonald
A third (32%) of Canadians say Pierre Elliot
Trudeau is Canada’s greatest Prime Minister. Father of confederation, Sir John
A. MacDonald, was seen as the greatest PM by 2 in 10 (20%).
Lester Pearson (13%) is third, with a cluster
of Prime Ministers statistically tied just behind him.
Jean Chretien (10%), Wilfrid Laurier (9%),
and Brian Mulroney (8%) are knotted together within the margin of error.
Mackenzie King sees only (5%) support, and Louis St. Laurent sees only (2%).
The proud and noble
beaver seen as the most Canadian animal
Almost two-thirds (59%) say that the beaver
is the most Canadian animal. The moose is well back, with just over 2 in 10
(21%) saying the gentle Canadian giant is the most Canadian.
The caribou (8%), the grizzly bear (5%), the
plains bison (3%), and the bighorn sheep (1%) did not receive much support from
Canadians, though other did receive (4%) of responses.
“Canada is an amazing country, with startling
natural beauty and a diverse and incredible population,” said Dr. Lorne
Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. “We are so fortunate to live in this
great country and here at Forum we’re happy to contribute in our small way to
the celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday with this celebratory
poll.”
Lorne Bozinoff,
Ph.D. is the president and founder of Forum Research. He can be reached at
lbozinoff@forumresearch.com or at (416) 960-9603.
