Proud but with problems: How Canadians feel about their country
As Canada turns 158 on Tuesday, a birthday celebrated during tumultuous political and international agitation, Canadians remain proud of their country and their place in it — with considerable intensity for a nation often too modest to boast — but riding on that red-and-white wave are hard questions of what kind of country Canadians want.
Article content
A new national opinion survey marks Canada Day by delving into how Canadians feel about their country and what boosts their patriotism and what dampens it; about what irks them so much they might leave, their sense of Canadian values, and even tries to put a finger on what Canada's national identity looks like.
Article content
There is little doubt Canadians are proud to be Canadian — a huge majority declared it — even though there are concerns about affordability, what it means to be Canadian, and a loss of a shared sense of collective identity, according to the survey conducted by Leger Marketing Inc., for Postmedia.
Article content
Article content
'As we approach Canada Day this year, Canadians are feeling pretty good about being Canadian, and I think they're going to be pretty boisterous about demonstrating it,' said Andrew Enns, a Leger vice president who oversaw the poll.
Article content
But, cautioned Enns, that doesn't mean there aren't challenges.
Article content
'It doesn't necessarily mean things are fantastic here. I think it's possible to be very proud to be Canadian — particularly when there's another country that suggests you should just pack in this whole Canada thing — but still say there's a lot of problems in the country,' Enns said.
Article content
When the poll respondents were asked how proud they were to be Canadian, 83 per cent described themselves as proud, with 45 per cent of those escalating that feeling to being very proud. Of those who dissented, 11 per cent said they weren't very proud and four per cent said they were not at all proud to be Canadian.
Article content
Article content
'A year ago, it wasn't like we were all wearing paper bags over our head and being ashamed — three-quarters said they felt pretty proud about being Canadians back then, but we've now popped that number up. There's also an intensity that I think we'll probably see on display in different celebrations,' said Enns.
Article content
Article content
Canada's proudest region is Atlantic Canada, where 90 per cent said they were proud and 57 per cent even upsized to very proud.
Article content
Those least likely to declare Canadian pride were in Alberta, but even there a strong majority — 78 per cent — said they were proud to be Canadian. That result wasn't much different that in British Columbia, where it was 79 per cent.
Article content
More women than men expressed Canadian pride (86 per cent versus 80 per cent).
Article content
The younger a respondent was, the less likely they were to say they were a proud Canadian: Among those aged 18 to 34, the youngest cohort, 76 per cent expressed pride; in the middle, those aged 35 to 54, there were 81 per cent declaring pride, while 89 per cent in the oldest group (55 and over) said they were proud to be Canadian.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Calgary Herald
44 minutes ago
- Calgary Herald
October election changes cost municipalities millions, longer return times
Article content The October 20 municipal election will bring new triple ballots, big bucks for hand-counting, and potentially days instead of minutes for election returns. Article content Spawned by the UCP government's Bill 20, electoral changes like the banning of tabulators will cost Edmonton taxpayers $4.8 million more in 2025. Article content Article content Voters around the province will face new registration procedures, three ballot papers per voter instead of one — and days, in some cases, instead of minutes to get election results. Article content Article content 'Better for democracy' Article content Article content In September, Premier Danielle Smith justified the mandate banning tabulating machines, saying that electronic vote tabulators have failed to produce fast results and public confidence. Article content Municipal affairs Minister Dan Williams said the move is about security. Article content 'Requiring all ballots to be counted by hand will ensure that all Albertans can trust the methods and results of their local elections, which is better for democracy,' Williams said in a written statement to Postmedia. Article content 'The time and cost to manually count ballots is outweighed by the increased confidence in election results,' he said. Article content Williams said the majority of municipalities across the province already hand count ballots for their elections, the federal government does, and the province will soon be hand counting ballots, too. Article content But Sherwood Park MLA Kyle Kasawski, the Official Opposition NDP shadow minister for municipal affairs, said vote tabulators have been cost savers for municipalities. 'They've allowed them to get more ballots counted faster and get the results out after municipal elections,' Kasawski said. Article content Article content 'What we've seen here with with the UCP is, I feel, like they're trying to solve a problem that doesn't exist and is just trying to make a small fringe group of their party feel better when, writ large, there's been no concerns about the results of municipal elections.' Article content Article content 'This time, if you're voting for a mayoral candidate, you're voting for a councillor candidate, and you're eligible to vote for a trustee in a school board, each of those races is going to be on a separate piece of paper,' said Aileen Giesbrecht, the returning officer for Edmonton Elections.
National Post
an hour ago
- National Post
A Canadian helped design the 'two-state solution.' This Canadian says it remains the only answer in Israel
Former Canadian diplomat Norman Spector doesn't have a reputation for wishful thinking. So when he proposes we talk about how the issues around terrorism, atrocities and hostages are being framed in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks in Israel, I know I'm in for a stiff shot of realpolitik. Article content 'By chance, I had the good fortune of being Canada's first representative to the Palestinian Authority shortly after I landed in Israel as ambassador in 1992,' Norman says, setting the context for our virtual conversation. Article content Article content 'I have some fond as well as some scary memories of walking around Gaza back then,' he continues, 'but these days, I mostly wonder how Israeli-Palestinian relations would have unfolded in the wake of the Oslo accords had Yitzhak Rabin not been assassinated.' Article content Article content Appointed by then-prime minister Brian Mulroney as Canada's ambassador in 1992, the year before the Oslo accords were signed, Norman had the good fortune of living in the Middle East during a period of peace. Article content Reflecting back, Norman says he's not sure the two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, envisioned in the Oslo accords, ever had a chance after the Rabin assassination. Rabin, the prime minister of Israel, was assassinated in 1995 by an Israeli extremist opposed to his peace efforts. Article content 'I think Rabin came to the conclusion that there was no alternative — and he had the credibility that allowed him to take a chance with Arafat whom Israelis did not trust,' Norman says. 'After October 7,' he muses, 'there is even less trust of Palestinians and there's no Rabin in sight.' Article content Article content There is a faint hint of wistfulness in Norman's tone; his assessment of the current situation is deeply unsettling. Article content Article content From October 7 on, we've seen growing division and polarization and hatred in our own country. Progressives have made Gaza their cause (no one more than Alberta's own NDP MP, Heather McPherson) and conservatives hold loyal to Israel. Media outlets pick a lane and stick with it. Article content Talking about Israel and the Palestinians has become so prickly, many refuse to wade into the conversation for fear of being attacked. The rhetoric is all part of the conflict, Norman accurately points out, 'Folks chanting or spray painting 'genocide' are generally not in favour of two states, one Jewish, one Palestinian, between the river and the sea.'
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
First Nations warn Alberta's data centre approach won't attract big tech companies
The chiefs of four First Nations in Alberta say they're eager to take part in the province's nascent data centre industry, but argue the province is taking the wrong approach to attract large-scale tech players. The chiefs of the Alexander First Nation, Paul First Nation, Enoch Cree Nation and Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation outlined their concerns this week in an open letter to Premier Danielle Smith and members of her government. "There are shovel-ready proposals backed by major industry players aligned with government objectives that will be left stranded without a change in proposed policy," the chiefs wrote. "Alberta should be a premier destination for hyperscale data centre investment. But strengths only matter if we act on them. Right now, Alberta's ability to execute and deliver on its promise is in question." Data centres are huge facilities housing the computing firepower needed for artificial intelligence and other applications. It can take an enormous amount of power to run and cool them. The chiefs say the amount of power the Alberta Electric System Operator has allotted to new projects falls short. The Alberta Electric System Operator said earlier this month that it has received requests from 29 proposed data centre projects representing more than 16,000 megawatts — more than 11 times the City of Edmonton's load. It said it will allow the connection of up to 1,200 megawatts of large load projects between now and 2028. "Alberta has never seen this level and volume of load connection requests," said AESO CEO Aaron Engen. "As the system operator, we are responsible for ensuring that new project connections do not compromise grid reliability. Because connecting all large loads seeking access would impair grid reliability, we established a limit that preserves system integrity while enabling timely data centre development in Alberta." The Alberta government has set a goal of attracting $100 billion in data centre investment over five years. Accommodating for hyperscalers But the chiefs wrote that the limit sends the wrong signal to tech powerhouses like Meta and Amazon. "The hyperscalers 'don't build small.' They think in gigawatts, because their global operations require that scale," they wrote. "Under the current proposal, not even one such flagship project may be fully realized here without years of delay, since 1,200 megawatts total divided among many projects signals that Alberta isn't prepared to accommodate a true hyperscaler's needs. "This sends an unintended but clear message to investors that Alberta's actions do not match its ambitions." The Alberta government supports the "balanced approach" the AESO is taking, said the press secretary for Affordability and Utilities Minister Nathan Neudorf. "Alberta aims to be the destination of choice for AI data centres in North America," Ashli Barrett said in a written statement. "At the same time, our government will always put the well-being of Albertans first and ensure data centre projects will not compromise the affordability or reliability of the electricity that millions of Albertans, First Nations, and our local industries depend on." Barrett added the 1,200-megawatt limit is short-term and should not be thought of as a cap. "It will enable data centre projects in advanced stages of planning and development to get started, while government works to develop a long-term framework for data centres, which will provide additional pathways for data centres projects to meet their power needs, including encouraging them to bring their own power." Chief Tony Alexis of the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation northwest of Edmonton said his community is looking at taking an equity stake in a project, and discussions are in the early stages. He said First Nations want more than to be consulted — they are ready to invest. "Our nations have been growing. We've got young populations and this industry can bring some real training, some jobs, some long-term prosperity for our community," Alexis said in an interview.
