Surging Canadian pride in face of Trump's insults sags after Canada's federal election, poll finds

National Post

4 days ago

A surge in Canadian pride when Canada's sovereignty and dignity were under assault from U.S. President Donald Trump has slumped back to normal levels after the federal election, according to a public opinion poll.
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Last year — in May and again in November — 80 per cent of Canadians said they were proud to be Canadian in opinion polls, but patriotism surged this spring, climbing to 86 per cent in early March, during the lead-up to April's federal election call.
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In the month following the election of Mark Carney and the Liberal Party to a minority government, however, Canadian patriotic fervour has slipped back to its pre-election level, according to a new poll.
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The national opinion survey, conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies and provided to Postmedia, also reveals significant regional differences in expressing Canadian patriotism.
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'The boost in pride in being Canadian arising from the U.S. threat of annexation appears to have worn off, and the level of pride has returned to its pre-campaign levels,' said Jack Jedwab, president of the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies.
'The most important swings in pride were in Quebec and Alberta, where election spikes in pride have returned to lower levels post-election, and that is especially the case in Alberta,' he said.
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Atlantic Canada displayed the most patriotism in the past, with 93 per cent of respondents saying they were proud to be Canadian a year ago. That was the highest level in the country at any time in the last year of polling.
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With the approach of a federal election — called after the resignation of unpopular prime minister Justin Trudeau — patriotic support in the Atlantic provinces dipped to 91 per cent. In the new poll, it deflated even further, down to 83 per cent.
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British Columbia expressed the least Canadian patriotism a year ago, with 71 per cent saying they were proud to be Canadian, but that level shot up before the election, reaching 90 per cent in early March. For poll respondents in B.C., patriotism had staying power after the election.
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Ontario was the only other region that retained a higher level of patriotism now than last year. In May 2024, 80 per cent in Ontario said they were proud to be Canadian. That rose to a high of 87 per cent this March and has settled in the recent poll at 83 per cent.