Most
Canadians Would Fail Citizenship Test
Toronto, June
28th – In a random sampling of public opinion taken by The Forum Poll™ among
1645 Canadian voters, in celebration of Canada Day, Canadians were asked 10
questions drawn from Discover Canada: The Rights and Responsibilities of
Citizenship, the study guide used by prospective citizens to study for
the Canadian Citizenship Test.
Applicants
need to get least 75% to pass the Canadian Citizenship test. Canadians scored
an average of 5 correct answers out of 10. A majority of Canadians (88%) obtained
70% or lower while just one-tenth of Canadians (12%) would pass the Canadian
Citizenship Test.
Those more
likely to pass the Canadian Citizenship Test include males (15%), the highest
earners (18%), post-graduate degree holders (21%), and those living in British
Columbia (22%).
Those least
likely to pass the Canadian Citizenship Test include those 65 years old and
over (94%), the lowest earners (97%), those with secondary school or less (95%)
and some college or university (93%), and those living in Quebec (95%).
Those in the Western
provinces are more likely to know who the Métis are
Respondents
were asked: “Who are the Métis?” Half of respondents (55%) correctly answered
that the Métis are “a distinct people of mixed Aboriginal and European ancestry”,
one-quarter (26%) answered don’t know, one-tenth (11%) answered that they were
a “distinct Aboriginal people of Atlantic Canada”, and a few said the “the
first French settlers” (6%) and the “original settlers of Montreal” (3%).
Those more
likely to answer correctly include those aged 18-44 (64% of those 18-34 and 63%
of those 35 to 44), males (59%), those earning $60k to $80k (67%), those who
completed college or university (61%) and those with post-graduate degrees
(63%), and those living in Manitoba/Saskatchewan (67%) and British Columbia
(64%).
The West wins again
Respondents
were asked, “What is the name of the Royal Anthem of Canada?” One-third of
respondents (36%) correctly answered “God Save the Queen” while more than half
(56%) answered “O Canada” and a few didn’t know (6%), or said it was The
Star-Spangled Banner (1%), or La Marseillaise (1%).
Those more
likely to correctly say it was “God Save the Queen” include, the highest
earners (44%) and those earning $60k to $80k (43%), those who completed college
or university (43%) and post-grads (42%), and those living in
Manitoba/Saskatchewan (48%), Alberta (46%), or British Columbia (47%).
One-third of Canadians know
their responsibilities as citizens
Respondents
were given a list of official responsibilities Canadian citizens have. They
were asked to determine which of was not an official
responsibility. One-quarter (26%) of respondents correctly said “driving
safely” was not a responsibility of citizens (highly advisable, but not an official
responsibility). Meanwhile, another said they (26%) didn’t know, a tenth (12%)
said it was “helping others in the community”, another tenth (11%) said it was
“voting in elections”, an additional tenth (9%) said it was “protecting and
enjoying our heritage and environment”, and a few said it was “serving on a
jury” (7%), “taking responsibility for oneself and one’s family” (6%), and
“obeying the law” (3%).
Those more
likely to correctly deduce “driving safely” is not an official responsibility
for citizens include, those aged 35 to 44 (36%), males (30%), those earning
$80k-$100k (36%), the highest-earners (36%), those who completed college or
university (30%), post-grads (29%), and those living in Atlantic Canada (33%)
or British Columbia (31%).
Higher-earners and the highly educated more likely to know when the CCRF joined the Constitution
When did the
Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms become part of the Constitution?
4-in-10 respondents (40%) correctly said it was 1982. One-quarter (26%) said
1867, a tenth (10%) said 1988, a few (2%) said 2000, and one-fifth (21%) said
they didn’t know.
Those more
likely to answer correctly include males (47%), those earning more than $60k
(50% of those earning $60k to 80k, 48% of those earning $80k to $100k, and 50%
of those earning $100k to $250), post-grads (54%), and living in Atlantic
Canada (40%), Québec (41%), or Ontario (42%).
Albertans more likely to
know about Canadian geography
Respondents
were also asked about geography, “Canada has five regions, which of the
following is not one of them?” Most Canadians (63%) recognize that the Midwest
is not a region of Canada. A few Canadians erroneously guessed that West Coast
(7%), Central Canada (6%), the Prairies (4%), the Northern Territories (4%) and
Atlantic Canada (2%) were not regions of our nation. About a tenth (14%) don’t
know.
Those more likely
to know that the Midwest is not a region of Canada include those aged 35-44
(70%) and 45-54 (68%), males (66%), those earning more than $60k (72% of those
earning $60k-$80k, 72% of those earning $80k-100k, and 73% of those earning
$100k-$250k), those who completed college or university (70%), and post-grads
(72%), and those living in Alberta (75%).
More than half know
"Inuit" means “the people”
The majority (56%) was able to correctly identify
that “the people” is the meaning of the word “Inuit” in the Inuktitut
language. A quarter (27%) didn't know, while about 1 in 10 (7%) said it
meant “the north”.About 1 in 20 thought it meant home (6%) or land (4%).
Respondents most likely to correctly identify
the meaning include those aged 35-44 (59%) or 45-54 (60%), earning $80-100,000
(65%), with a college/university (60%) or graduate degree (63%), and living in
BC (64%).
Half know Gilles Duceppe
isn't a party leader in the House of Commons
A list of four party leaders was presented to
respondents: Duceppe, Trudeau, Scheer, and May. Respondents were asked to
identify which was not currently a leader in the House of Commons.
Half (53%) correctly identified Duceppe as someone
not currently a party leader in the House of Commons, though curiously one-fifth
(20%) selected Justin Trudeau.1 in 10 (9%) said Elizabeth May and 1 in 20 (6%)
said Andrew Scheer.
Respondents most likely to correctly identify
Duceppe include those aged 35-44 (60%) or 45-54 (57%), males (58%), earning
$60-80,000 (60%), $80-100,000 (58%), or the most wealthy (61%), with a
college/university (59%) or graduate degree (61%), and living in Québec (72%).
Half correctly identify the
founding peoples of Canada
Half (48%) were able to correctly identify that
Aboriginal, French, and British were the founding peoples of Canada.One-fifth
(17%) said they do not know.
Respondents most likely to correctly identify the
founding peoples of Canada include those aged 34 or younger (53%), 35-44 (53%),
45-54 (50%), males (54%), the most wealthy (56%), with a post-graduate degree
(60%).
Two-thirds know the
importance of the Canada Pacific Railway
Two-thirds (65%) were able to identify that unity,
a railway from sea to sea, was the importance of the Canada Pacific
Railway. About 1 in 10 (8%) thought it was the start of the manufacturing
industry or easy access to steel from west to east (8%).1 in 20 (5%) thought it
was wealth, and Canada increasing its GDP. One-sixth (14%) said they do
not know.
Respondents most likely to correctly identify the
importance of the CPR include those aged 55-64 (72%), males (70%), earning
$60-80,000 (72%) or the most wealthy (74%), with a college/university (69%) or
graduate degree (70%), and living in BC (78%).
Only 1 in 5 identify the
Sovereign as Canada's Head of State
One-fifth (19%) were able to identify the
Sovereign, Her Majesty the Queen, as Canada's Head of State. 4 in 10 (39%)
said it was the Prime Minister, while a third (33%) said it was the Governor
General. Few said they didn't know (6%) or the President (3%)
Respondents most likely to identify the Sovereign
as Head of State include those aged 35-44 (21%) or 55-64 (22%), earning
$80-$100,000 (22%) or the most wealthy (25%), with a college/university (23%)
or graduate degree (25%), and living in Atlantic Canada (29%).
“Many
Canadians wouldn't pass the Canadian citizenship test," said Dr. Lorne
Bozinoff, President of Forum Research. “Canadians' general knowledge of what's
in the study guide would only get them about halfway to a passing grade."
