Canadians' Lack Knowledge About Vimy and Other WWI Events

Nonetheless, Most Canadians (81%) Agree that the Canadian Military is "An important Part of our National Identity"

Toronto, ON - On the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Vimy Ridge an Ipsos-Reid poll conducted on behalf of the Dominion Institute reveals that Canadians lack knowledge about the country's involvement in the First World War. In all, six-in-ten (60%) Canadians failed a three-question quiz aimed at testing their knowledge of Vimy Ridge and World War One. A majority of Canadians (57%) could identify In Flanders Fields as Canada's most famous war poem but only one third (36%) could name the Battle of Vimy Ridge as the battle that consisted of the capture of a key ridge on the western front and is considered Canada's most famous single victory in the First World War. About the same number (34%) correctly chose Arthur Currie in a multiple choice question about who was the Canadian commander in World War One whose plan led to the victory at Vimy Ridge. Despite their poor performance on the quiz, most Canadians (81%) agree that the Canadian Military is "an important part of our National Identity."

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid poll included as part of the Ipsos-Reid Canadian Express omnibus and conducted on behalf of the Dominion Institute between March 19th and 21st, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, 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. 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 1996 Census data.

Six in Ten (60%) Canadians Failed a Three Question Quiz Testing their Knowledge of Canada's Involvement in the First World War

Overall, six in ten (60%) Canadians failed a three question quiz (comprised of two open ended and one multiple-choice question) testing their knowledge of the First World War. Four in ten (40%) Canadians passed the quiz and the average score was 43%. One third (34%) failed to answer any of the questions correctly while another quarter (26%) managed to get only one of the three questions correct. Only one-in-five (20%) were able to answer all three questions correctly.

• British Columbians performed best with 63% of the population passing the quiz while Quйbecers performed worst, with only 4% of the population passing the quiz.
• Men (46%) were more likely to pass than women (35%).
• The percentage who passed increased with age from 31% among younger Canadians to 41% among middle aged and 50% among older Canadians.

57% of Canadians Could Identify In Flanders Fields as Canada's Most Famous War Poem (57%) But Only One Third (36%) Could Identify Vimy Ridge as the Battle that Captured a Key Ridge on the Western Front - the Same Number (34%) Could Name Arthur Currie as the Person who Developed the Plan for this Battle

Canadians did the best on identifying the name of the famous poem written by Captain John McCrae who served as a medical officer in World War One. Nearly six in ten (57%) Canadians were able to name In Flanders Fields as the poem that is considered to be Canada's most famous war poem. Four in ten (38%) said they "don't know" while 6% mentioned something other than the correct answer.

• Regionally, very few (4%) Quйbecers could identify In Flanders Fields. Looking only at Canadians outside Quйbec, the percentage who correctly answered this question rises to 74%.

Only a third (36%) of Canadians could identify Vimy Ridge as the battle that consisted of the capture of a key ridge on the Western Front and is considered Canada's most famous single victory in the First World War. Instead, half (50%) of Canadians simply said they "don't know".

• Once again, Quйbecers performed the worst with only 6% correctly answering this question. However, even in the rest of Canada only 46% correctly answered the question.
• Men (43%) are much more likely to correctly answer the question than women (29%).
• Older Canadians (47%) are more likely to correctly answer than middle aged (37%) or younger (25%) Canadians.

When asked the multiple choice question "which of the following three people was the Canadian commander in World War One whose plan led to the victory at Vimy Ridge?" Only a third (34%) correctly chose Arthur Currie. In fact, Canadians were equally likely (34%) to choose American World War Two general Douglas MacArthur. Meanwhile, one in ten (11%) chose 19th Century British naval commander Horatio Nelson while one in five (21%) simply said they "don't know". Regional and demographic differences for this questions are similar to those in the other questions.

• Quйbecers (15%) are much less likely than the rest of Canada (40%) to correctly answer the question. BC (54%) stands out as the only region where a majority of residents correctly answered the question.
• Men (41%) are more likely than women (26%) to answer correctly.
• Younger (26%) Canadians are less likely than middle aged (35%) and older (43%) Canadians to answer the question correctly.

Nonetheless, Most Canadians (81%) Agree that the Canadian Military is "An important Part of our National Identity"

Most Canadians (81%) agree that "the Canadian military is an important part of our national identity". This includes 54% who "strongly agree" and another quarter (27%) who "somewhat agree". Only one in five (18%) disagree (8% "strongly", 10% "somewhat").

• Regionally, Quйbecers (70%) are least likely to agree, while Atlantic Canadians (93%) are most likely to agree that the Canadian military is an important part of our national identity.
• Canadians under 35 (76%) are less likely than those aged 35 and older (83%) to agree with the statement.

On a similar note, more than three quarters (78%) of Canadians agree that "not enough is being done to honour Canada's war veterans". Half (50%) of Canadians "strongly agree" while another 28% "somewhat agree". In contrast, one-in-five (20%) disagree (6% "strongly", 14% "somewhat") that not enough is being done to honour our war veterans.

• Quйbecers (68%) and British Columbians (76%) are least likely to agree, while Atlantic Canadians (86%) are most likely to agree that not enough is being done.

Two-thirds (64%) of Canadians disagree with the statement "commemorating military events like the Battle of Vimy Ridge glorifies war". Four-in-ten (40%) say they "strongly disagree" while a quarter (24%) "somewhat disagree". One-third (33%) agrees (12% "strongly", 21% "somewhat") that commemorating events like the Battle of Vimy Ridge glorifies war.

• Quйbecers (46%) are most likely and British Columbians (23%) are least likely to agree that commemorating military events glorifies war.

To view the complete release and tables, please download the attached PDF files.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:
John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Public Affairs
Ipsos-Reid
(416) 324-2900