OTTAWA — As Canadians find it increasingly difficult to secure a job, feed their families or an affordable place to live, few say they take pride in Canada, a new poll finds.
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New numbers from Angus Reid find the number of people who feel “very proud” to be a Canadian has taken a precipitous dive over the past four decades, with just 34% saying they take great pride in their citizenship.
That’s compared to 1985, when 78% of respondents reported feeling “very proud” to be a Canadian.
“The years since the onset of COVID-19 have been a well-documented period of division and discord in this country, with Canadians expressing concerns about the lack of a ‘middle’ option politically, an unwillingness from governments to work together for the people, weakening compassion and growing space between Canadians,” read the report published online by the Angus Reid institute.
According to Environics polls conducted at the time, that number fell from 78% to 71% in 1994.
A Carleton University/International Social Survey Programme (ISSP) poll conducted in 2003 found that number had fallen to 68%, falling again in 2016 to 52%, and 34% in 2024.
Forty-nine per cent of the 2024 respondents agreed with a statement saying they had a deep emotional attachment to Canada, and that they love the country and what it stands for — a number that fell from 62% in 2016 and 65% in 1991.
As well, 37% in 2024 said they have an attachment to Canada, but only as long as it provides a good standard of living — up from 31% in 2016 and 19% in 1991.
Eight per cent said they feel no attachment to Canada and would like to see if split up into smaller countries, up from 5% in 2016 but down from 9% in 1991, while those who would like Canada absorbed into the United States sits at 6% — 2% in 2016 and 5% in 1991.
These feelings seem consistent across the country.
“Quebec is least likely to have downward movement on attachment (-7,) but this is largely due to its starting point, already lowest in the country (37%,)” the report read.
“The number of Albertans saying they have a deep emotional attachment has dropped 20 points from 67 to 47% since 2016.”
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Politically, respondents who profess support for the federal Conservatives were more likely to say that Canada should join the United States, while those expressing deep, emotional attachment to Canada were more likely to support the federal Liberals.
Newer immigrants who’ve been in Canada for under a decade are more likely to say they feel attached to Canada as long as they maintain a good standard of living, a feeling that diminishes the longer they stay here — just over half of new immigrants feel that way, which drops to 45% among those who’ve been here 10 to 20 years, and falls to just 33% for those who’ve been in Canada for over 20 years.
The poll was conducted among 4,004 Canadians between Nov. 29 and Dec. 5 via the Angus Reid Forum. Margin-of-error data was not provided.
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