Eight in Ten (84%) Canadians Believe Queen Elizabeth II has Done a Good Job as Monarch, However, Canadians Split on Future Role of Monarchy When Queen's Reign Ends

Toronto, ONTARIO (Friday, October 4th, 2002) - With the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II in Canada this week in celebration of the Golden Jubilee of her reign, a new poll conducted by Ipsos-Reid on behalf of CTV and The Globe and Mail indicates that Canadians feel that she has done a good job as monarch. In fact, eight in ten (84%) of her Canadian subjects agree with this view. In comparison, 13% disagree that she has done a good job.

However, Canadians are split as to the future role of the British Monarchy in Canada when Queen Elizabeth's reign comes to an end. In fact, half (48%) say that when this event happens, Canada should end its formal ties to the British monarchy. This compares to 51% who disagree with this proposal.

If ties to the monarchy were severed, four in ten (39%) Canadians indicate that they would prefer a symbolic Governor General with limited responsibilities who is elected to become Canada's new official Head of State. A similar number (37%) say they would prefer that Canada become a republic in which the Prime Minister becomes the official Head of State in addition to the current role as Head of Government, while 15% would like the new Head of State to be a symbolic Governor General with limited responsibilities who is appointed by the Prime Minister.

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/CTV/Globe and Mail poll conducted between October 1st and October 3rd, 2002. The poll is based on a randomly selected sample of 1,000 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.

Eight in Ten (84%) Canadians Believe Queen Elizabeth II has Done a Good Job as Monarch

Two-Thirds (67%) Say That She Should Not Abdicate as Queen To Allow Prince Charles to Become King

Eight in ten (84%) of the Queen's Canadian subjects believe that she has done a good job as monarch. In comparison, 13% disagree that she has done a good job.

• Women (87%) are more likely than men (80%) to indicate that the Queen has done a good job as monarch.
• Canadians from middle income households (89%) are more likely than either their counterparts in upper (83%) or lower (78%) income households to hold the view that Queen Elizabeth has done a good job.
• Quebecers (67%) are the least likely to say that the Queen has done a good job in her role.

Two-thirds of Canadians (67% - 45% strongly) feel that Queen Elizabeth II should not abdicate or step down as Queen now, to allow her son, Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales to become King of England immediately. This compares to just three in ten (28%) to agree that the Queen should step down now to allow Prince Charles to become King.

• Once again, Quebecers buck the national trend, with 50% disagreeing and 42% agreeing to this proposal.
• Younger (31%) Canadians are more likely than older (25%) Canadians to indicate that the Queen should step aside in order to allow Prince Charles to become King immediately.
• Canadians in middle income households (31%) are more likely than those in upper income households (25%) to indicate that the Queen should step down now.

On a personal level, the Queen (30%) is cited as Canadians favourite living member of the British Royal Family, followed by the third in line to the throne, Prince William (22%). Prince Charles (9%) trails his son, followed by Prince Andrew (4%), Prince Harry (4%), Prince Phillip (2%), Prince Edward (2%), Princess Anne (1%) and 3% who mentioned other members of the Royal family. Sixteen percent indicate that they do not have a favourite royal, and 7% say `don't know.'

• The Queen is the favourite of 40% of Canadians aged 55 and older. This compares to only 30% of 35 to 54 year olds and 20% of 18 to 34 year olds
• Regionally, the Queen is the top choice of those in Ontario (34%) and Atlantic Canada (34%), followed by British Columbia (33%), Alberta (32%) and Saskatchewan/Manitoba (30%). Residents of Quebec (20%) are the least likely to cite the Queen as their favourite living royal. Quebecers (23%) followed by Atlantic Canadians (19%) are the most likely to indicate that they do not have a favourite member of the Royal family.

However, Canadians Split on Future Role of Monarchy When Queen's Reign Ends

48% Believe Canada Should End Formal Ties While 51% Disagree

Canadians are split as to the future role of the British Monarchy in Canada when Queen Elizabeth's reign ends. Half (48%) say that when this event happens, Canada should end its formal ties to the British monarchy. This compares to 51% who disagree with this proposal.

• Regionally, Quebecers (74%) are in the highest agreement with this proposal. This is in comparison to residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba (48%), British Columbia (43%) and Atlantic Canada (43%). Alberta (36%) and Ontario (35%) are least likely to agree to this idea.
• Men and women are split on this subject, with more men (53% versus 42% of women) agreeing, and more women (56% versus 46% of men) disagreeing with this proposal.

If Formal Tie to Monarchy Ends, An Elected Governor General with Limited Responsibilities (39%) or a Republic with Prime Minister as Official Head of State (37%) Top Choices to Replace Monarch

If ties to the monarchy were severed, four in ten (39%) Canadians indicate that they would prefer a symbolic Governor General with limited responsibilities who is elected to become Canada's new official Head of State.

• Albertans (54%) are the most likely to prefer an elected Governor General, followed by those in British Columbia (40%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (40%), Ontario (40%), Atlantic Canada (36%) and Quebec (33%).
• Women (43%) are more likely than men (35%) to prefer an elected Governor General.
• Canadians in lower income households (41%) are more likely to prefer this option than are those in upper income households (35%).
• Canadians without a high school diploma (44%) are more likely than those with a university degree (34%) to indicate preference for this option.

A similar number (37%) say they would prefer that Canada become a republic in which the Prime Minister becomes the official Head of State in addition to the current role as Head of Government.

• Regionally, support for this option is statistically consistent across all regions of the country.
• Men (42% versus 31% of women) are more likely to prefer this option to replace the monarch as Canada's official Head of State.
• Middle aged (40%) and younger (38%) Canadians are more likely to select this option than are older (31%) Canadians.
• Those in upper (42%) and middle (38%) income households are more likely than those in the lowest income households (30%) to choose this option.

Fifteen percent would like the new Head of State to be a symbolic Governor General with limited responsibilities who is appointed by the Prime Minister.

• Regionally, residents of Quebec (23%) lead the country in selecting this option, followed by those in British Columbia (17%), Atlantic Canada (17%), Ontario (13%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (9%) and Alberta (5%).

But Half (52%) of Canadians Say Why Go Through the Fuss of Changing Something That Seems to Work

However, half (52%) of Canadians say that the issue of the monarchy and Canada's form of government is not important to them, so why go through the fuss of changing something that seems to work okay, while 44% disagree with this view.

• Residents of Atlantic Canada (60%) and Quebec (56%) lead in terms of agreement with this view, followed by those in Ontario (53%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (52%), Alberta (47%) and British Columbia (44%).
• Older (57%) Canadians are more likely to agree with this sentiment than are middle aged (51%) or younger (50%) Canadians.
• Canadians in middle (58%) and lower (56%) income households are more likely than those in upper income households (49%) to express this view.
• Canadians with a high school diploma (62%) and those with some university or other post-secondary education (54%) are more likely than those with a university degree (43%) to agree with this view.

Royals Seen as Simply Celebrities and Nothing More (58%)

In general, a majority (58%) agree with the position that the Queen and the Royal Family should not have any formal role in Canadian society and that they are simply celebrities and nothing more. Four in ten (41%) disagree with this view.

• Residents of Quebec (77%) are the most likely to express agreement, followed by those in Alberta (57%), Saskatchewan/Manitoba (55%), Atlantic Canada (54%), Ontario (50%) and British Columbia (49%).
• Men (63% versus 53% of women) are more likely to agree with this view.
• Canadians in upper income households (61%) are more likely than those in middle income households (55%) to agree with this idea.

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

-30-

For more information on this news release, please contact:

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900