During waves of separation ideation, national poll probes Canadians’ attachment to Canada, their province, and each other

Facing renewed separatist ideation and agitation in Quebec and Alberta, a new national public opinion poll says Canadians feel a strong attachment to their country — stronger than to their province — and share an abiding affinity for fellow Canadians, no matter where they live.

With Albertans voting Monday in a referendum asking whether the province should begin the process of holding a vote on separating from Canada and a separatist government elected in Quebec earlier this month, Canadian unity is again eating up airtime, timelines and headlines.

A national poll dissecting the feelings Canadians have for Canada, their province and each other casts a light on our national hearts.

“Despite the outcome of the Quebec election and some of the increasingly negative rhetoric about Canada in Alberta, what stands out in our findings is the relative stability and resilience of Canadian identity. Political discourse may suggest a country pulling apart, but Canadians’ attachment to their country and, importantly, to one another remains remarkably strong,” said Jack Jedwab, president of the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies (ACS).

The nationwide poll of Canadian adults was conducted last week by EKOS Research for the ACS and provided to Postmedia.

Perhaps not surprisingly, considering decades of separatist ideation, Quebecers expressed the lowest sentiment of strong attachment to Canada, while respondents in Atlantic Canada were on the opposite end of the scale, being the most boisterous in Canadian attachment, by a wide margin.

In Alberta, which is currently probing its own separation sentiment, a strong majority of respondents said they are very attached to Canada — although the percentage of Albertans saying they felt no attachment at all to Canada was higher even than in Quebec.

Nationally, the combined results from all respondents in the 10 provinces polled, found 60 per cent described themselves as very attached to Canada. Another 27 per cent said they were somewhat attached. Eight per cent nationally described feeling not very attached and four per cent said not at all attached.

At 45 per cent, Quebec was the only region that did not have a majority expressing strong attachment to Canada; 33 per cent said they felt somewhat attached, 14 per cent said not very attached and seven per cent said not at all attached.

Alberta had 61 per cent of respondents say they felt very attached to Canada; 23 per cent said somewhat attached, eight per cent not very attached, and another eight per cent say not attached at all, higher than those in Quebec in expressing that level of alienation.

In Atlantic Canada (the pollsters combined New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland and Labrador) 79 per cent said they were strongly attached to Canada, and another 27 per cent said they felt somewhat attached. Only four per cent said not very attached and none said they felt no attachment at all.

The remaining provinces were roughly in the same territory on their expressions of attachment to Canada.

The proportion of respondents saying they felt very attached in the remaining provinces were: 62 per cent in B.C.; 63 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan pooled together; and 65 per cent in Ontario. Those saying they felt somewhat attached were: 24 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan; 28 per cent in Ontario; and 29 per cent in B.C.

Those expressing some alienation accounted for: 10 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan; six per cent in B.C.; and five per cent in Ontario. Those expressing complete alienation were four per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan; three per cent in B.C.; and two per cent in Ontario.

The findings suggest that Quebecers continue to negotiate (provincial and Canadian) identities rather than simply choosing one over the other

Those in the Atlantic provinces not only have the strongest expression of attachment to Canada, but they also had the strongest attachment to their home province — 62 per cent said they felt very attached to their province.

Those who had the lowest proportion expressing strong attachment to their province were in Ontario, where only 27 per cent said they felt very attached, significantly lower than anywhere else.

The next lowest was Alberta, where 38 per cent said they felt very attached to their province, followed by Manitoba and Saskatchewan with 41 per cent, B.C. with 45 per cent, and Quebec with 47 per cent.

The national average was 39 per cent.

Despite disagreements and rivalries, the poll shows that Canadians feel a strong attachment to other Canadians.

Nationally, 63 per cent said they felt very strong attachment towards other Canadians and another 31 per cent said they felt somewhat attached. Only two per cent said they didn’t feel much attachment, and none said they felt no attachment at all.

The weakest in expressing affinity with other Canadians were Albertans.

Only 59 per cent of respondents in Alberta said they felt very much attachment to other Canadians, compared to 73 per cent in Atlantic Canada, 63 in Ontario, 62 in Quebec and B.C., and 60 in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

Albertans were also most likely to say they felt not very much attachment to other Canadians, but it was still only five per cent, where it was either one or two per cent everywhere else.

“Quebec remains the exception in the extent to which provincial and Canadian identities compete, but that’s hardly new,” Jedwab said. “The findings suggest that Quebecers continue to negotiate these identities rather than simply choosing one over the other. Indeed, while only 45 per cent of Quebecers say they’re very attached to Canada, 62 per cent feel very strongly attached to other Canadians. That’s an important distinction that often gets lost in debates over sovereignty.”

Curiously, in the context of Alberta’s separation referendum, more respondents in Alberta said they felt no attachment at all to their province than said they felt no attachment to their country.

Alberta had the highest proportion of respondents feeling alienated from their province, at 11 per cent, followed by Manitoba and Saskatchewan at 10 per cent, six per cent in both Quebec and Ontario, three per cent in Atlantic provinces, and two per cent in B.C.

“There’s an important distinction between political alienation and national identification,” said Jedwab. “Whatever frustrations some Albertans may have with Ottawa, an important majority remain attached to Canada and to other Canadians. The concerns are more with governance and much less so with identity.”

Poll respondents were also asked which description best fits with how they see themselves: Canadian only, Canadian first but also provincial, equally Canadian and provincial, provincial first but also Canadian, or provincial only.

Nationally, the average of those saying Canadian only was 29 per cent. The regional breakdown showed those in Ontario to be the outliers, at 46 per cent, followed by 29 per cent in Alberta, 24 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, 22 per cent in B.C., 13 per cent in the Atlantic provinces, and 10 per cent in Quebec.

Those who said Canadian first but also provincial reached a national average of 34 per cent. That sentiment was shared equally strongest in the Atlantic provinces and B.C., with 44 per cent. Next came Manitoba and Saskatchewan at 35, followed by Ontario and Alberta both at 33, and Quebec landing at 28.

A national average of 17 per cent declared equal national and provincial affinity. Atlantic Canada and Manitoba and Saskatchewan were highest in the regional breakdown on that choice at 20 per cent, closely followed by Quebec at 19, B.C. at 17, Ontario at 15, and Alberta at 13.

Next, those choosing province first but also Canadian accounted for 14 per cent of respondents nationally. Quebecers were the big outliers at 31 per cent, followed by those in Atlantic Canada at 22, Albertans at 16, those in B.C. and Manitoba and Saskatchewan all at 11, and Ontarians by far the lowest at just two per cent.

Finally, those declaring only a provincial affiliation were a slim four per cent nationally. In Quebec it was nine per cent, Manitoba and Saskatchewan at eight, Alberta at six, B.C. at two, and Ontario and Atlantic Canada both at zero.

“One of the lessons of the survey is that many Canadians don’t want to be forced into choosing between their regional and Canadian identities. That’s particularly relevant in Quebec, where the relationship is more divided, but it also applies to Alberta, where most identify primarily as Canadian or as Canadian and Albertan.

“Despite the political divisions, the bonds between Canadians appear stronger than some of the rhetoric would have us believe.”

The survey questioned 1,232 Canadian adults from Oct. 9 to 15. Participants were randomly recruited by telephone and confirmed by live interviewers. This sample size has a margin of error plus or minus 2.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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