Canadians' "Heroes" and "Villains" in 1995

With the Quebec referendum still fresh in many Canadians' minds, it is perhaps not surprising that the individuals who Canadians pinpoint as this year's "heroes" and "villains" have been key players in the national unity debate. In fact, politicians are well-represented on the public's list of people they most respected and least admired in 1995. Lucien Bouchard sits at the heights of both lists: carried to the top of the list of "heroes" by the strength of Quebec public opinion, and to the top of the list of "villains" by non-Quebecers and Quebecers alike.

These findings emerged from a special year-end Southam News/CTV/Angus Reid Poll conducted among a representative cross-section of 1506 Canadians between December 6 and 13, 1995.

Canadians' "Heroes" of 1995

Canadians participating in this mid-December poll were asked the following "open-ended" question: "Has there been any particular individual in the news this past year that you yourself regard as something of a 'hero', anyone that you particularly admire or respect? Anyone else in the news this year who is a hero or a figure of respect for you?" The individuals named most often on a "top-of-mind" (unaided) basis are highlighted below: (Table1)

Lucien Bouchard, more than anyone else, was cited by one in ten (10%) of all surveyed Canadians as the person whom they regard as something of a "hero", although this was driven almost entirely by the responses from the province of Quebec. Within Quebec alone, more than one in three (37%) consider Mr. Bouchard as someone they particularly admired or respected in 1995.

• Outside of Quebec, no more than one percent of respondents from any other major region named Bouchard as their "hero" for 1995.
• Jean Chretien (7%) was the second most often cited "hero" this year, with this level of mentions comparable across the country.
• The late Yitzhak Rabin (6%) was the only other individual named as a "hero" by a significant number of the surveyed Canadian population as a whole.
• On a regional basis, Mike Harris (offered by 6% of Ontario respondents) was third on Ontarians' list of 1995 "heroes", following Chretien and Rabin. Meanwhile, Ralph Klein (8%) headed the list of Albertans' most admired people during the past year. It is significant to note, however, that fully one-half (53%) of surveyed Canadians could not label anyone as a "hero" for 1995.

Canadians' "Villains" of 1995

In order to identify Canadians' "villains" list for 1995, survey respondents were then presented with the following question:

"And has there been any particular individual in the news this past year that you would say is the opposite of a hero, someone not at all worthy of respect or admiration? Anyone else in the news this year who you regard as something of a 'villain'?"

Highlighted below are the individuals named most frequently in response to this question: (Table 1)

• About one out of five (18%) Canadians consider Lucien Bouchard to be one of 1995's "villains". This sentiment is shared by a similar proportion of Canadians across the country, including 15 percent of Quebecers.
• Jacques Parizeau (18%), outgoing premier of Quebec, is also at the top of Canadians' list of people considered not worthy of respect or admiration. Fully one in four (26%) respondents from Quebec deemed Mr. Parizeau to be one of 1995's "villains".
• Also making an appearance on the list of "villains" for 1995 were Paul Bernardo (17%) and O.J. Simpson (13%). Perhaps not surprisingly, Bernardo was named more frequently by Ontarians (28%), making him the top "villain" among residents of this convicted individual's home province.
• Other individuals receiving significant mention as "villains" for 1995 included: Jean Chretien (8% nationally but 24% in Quebec - virtually in a first place tie with Mr. Parizeau); ex-Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (8%); and the "Bosnian Serb leaders" (5%). In addition, Mike Harris was volunteered for this dubious honour by one in ten (11%) surveyed Ontario residents (versus 6% who nominated him to the "heroes" list), while Ralph Klein was singled out by 15 percent of Albertans (twice as many as awarded him the "hero" moniker).

This national Southam News/CTV/Angus Reid Poll was conducted by telephone between December 6th and 13th, 1995 among a representative cross-section of 1506 Canadian adults . The actual number of completed interviews in each region was as follows: B.C. - 200; Alberta - 135; Manitoba/Saskatchewan - 124; Ontario - 526; Quebec - 400; Atlantic - 121. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1991 Census data. With a national sample of 1506, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results are within ±2.5 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population.

For further information, contact:

Angus Reid
Chairman & CEO
Angus Reid Group
(604) 257-3200

Darrel Bricker
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(613) 241-5802

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(416) 324-2900