Royal Pains? Just 37% View King Charles Favourably as Monarch and Monarchy Skids in Favourability Since Death of Late Queen

Toronto, ON, May 4^th, 2023 – With the coronation of King Charles III ahead, Canadians’ favourability toward the monarchy has skidded since the death of Queen Elizabeth II. According to the results of a new Ipsos poll conducted exclusively on behalf of Global News, all of the Monarchy’s main figureheads have dipped in favourability. Down 7 points compared September 2022, only 37% of Canadians now say they view King Charles III favourably, while 44% view him unfavourably (+4 pts).  

37% are favourable towards the King; only William keeps a majority

Six months after the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, the veneer of the British Monarchy seems to have eroded in the eyes of Canadians. Reflecting last year’s trend, King Charles III (37%, -7) and Camilla (26%, -1) are both lagging in approval compared to other members of the royal family; although the Queen Consort’s approval is higher among GenZ (39% vs. 24% Millennials; 25% GenX; 23% Boomers). With King Charles’ upcoming coronation, future tracking of public opinion on the British Monarchy will likely reveal if the longstanding institution will continue its decline.

William (52%) and Catherine (47%) – although viewed comparatively more favourably – have dipped double digits (-14 pts each) compared to September 2022, with William being the only member of the Monarchy to see a double-digit rise in those unfavourable (30%, +12). However, the Prince of Wales is the only figurehead to hold a positive majority of those favourable among Canadians six months after Charles acceded as head of the Monarchy. Interestingly, the Prince and Princess of Wales’ favourability is highest among the university educated: William (60% vs. 57% post secondary; 46% high school, 38% less than high school); Catherine (57% vs. 46% post secondary; 43% high school, 41% less than high school).

Person	% Favourable (very/somewhat)	% Unfavourable (very/somewhat)	Don’t know enough about them either way
King Charles III	37% (-7)	44% (+4)	19% (+3)
Camilla, Queen Consort	26% (-1)	47% (+4)	26% (+4)
William, Prince of Wales	52% (-14)	30% (+12)	18% (+2)
Catherine, Princess of Wales	47% (-14)	22% (+3)	30% (+10)
Harry, Duke of Sussex	47% (-9)	32% (+7)	21% (+2)
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex	44% (-6)	35% (+3)	21% (+3)

 

As for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, both have lost the thin majoritarian approval they enjoyed six months ago. Down 9 points, less than half (47%) now view Harry favourably, which is also the case for Meghan (44%, -6). That being said, Harry’s approval is highest in Ontario (53%, +6 compared to national average), while Meghan is viewed more favourably among those aged 18-34 (51% vs. 42% 35-54; 39% 55+).

As Monarchy’s approval wanes, 45% won’t pay attention to coronation ceremony

Compared to September 2022, Canadians’ appreciation of the Monarchy’s role and relevance has faded. On one hand, when asked to reflect on the royal family’s relevance with the upcoming coronation ceremony of King Charles III, all negative statements have trended upwards. For instance, six in ten (60%, +2) believe that the Prime Minister should hold a referendum on the future of the Monarchy in Canada – in fact, the same proportion (58%, +1) agrees that Canada is not truly an independent nation if it continues to support the Monarchy. Furthermore, a similar proportion (61%, +4) agrees that the Monarchy’s history is too tied with colonialism and slavery to have a place within Canadian society, while more than half (53%, +5) agree that Canada should no longer have a relationship with the former British Empire and should quit the Commonwealth.

	April 2023	September 2022
Negative statements
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should hold a referendum on the future of the monarchy in Canada	60% (+2)	58%
Canada should no longer have a relationship with the former British Empire and should quit the Commonwealth of Nations	53% (+5)	48%
The monarchy has too much of a role in Canadian affairs	46% (+3)	43%
The monarchy is too linked to the history of colonialism and slavery to have a place in today's Canadian society	61% (+4)	57%
Canada is not truly an independent nation if it continues to support the monarchy	58% (+1)	57%
Positive statements
I'm confident that King Charles III will do a good job in his role as monarch	55% (-1)	56%
King Charles is doing a good job in his role as monarch	54%	-
King Charles III and Queen Camilla will help keep the monarchy relevant to Canadians	41% (-6)	47%
The monarchy provides Canadians with stability during precarious times	45% (-4)	49%
The Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Catherine, will help keep the monarchy relevant to Canadians	53% (-7)	60%
Canada's relationship with the monarchy is useful because it helps to keep us different from the United States	54% (-6)	60%
Traditions like Canada's relationship with the monarchy are important to our heritage and help to make Canada and Canadians who we are	58% (-3)	61%

On the other hand, all positive statements concerning the Monarchy’s relevance have trended downwards over the last six months. Most significantly, less than half (45%, -4) believe that the Monarchy provides Canadians with stability during precarious times. Four in ten (41%, -6) believe Charles and Camilla will help keep the monarchy relevant to Canadians, while a majority (53%, -7) still say the same for William and Catherine. Although declined, a majority (54%, -6) still believe that Canada's relationship with the monarchy is useful because it helps to keep us different from the United States. Interestingly, although King Charles III’s favourability remains brittle, the majority (54%) of Canadians believe that he is currently doing a good job as monarch, while the same proportion (55%, -1) are confident he will continue to do so. That being said, by comparison, Queen Elizabeth II enjoyed overwhelming support over the past 20 years (over 80% since 2002).

While opinions on the Monarchy’s relevance are relatively constant among socio-demographic subgroups, the most significant driver of variation is regional. As expected, disapproval of the Monarchy is starkly highest in Quebec, where residents are more likely to agree:

• That the Prime Minister should hold a referendum on the future of the Monarchy (76%, +16 compared to the national average).
• The monarchy is too linked to the history of colonialism and slavery to have a place in today's Canadian society (76%, +15 pts compared to the national average).
• Canada is not truly an independent nation if it continues to support the monarchy (71%, +13 pts compared to the national average).
• Canada should no longer have a relationship with the former British Empire and should quit the Commonwealth of Nations (73%, +20 pts compared to the national average).

By comparison, although not systematic, support for the Monarchy is higher in some parts of English-speaking Canada, especially in Alberta and Ontario. Indeed, residents of Atlantic Canada (63%), Alberta (64%) and Ontario (59%) are more likely to believe William and Catherine will help keep the Monarchy relevant to Canadians (vs. 44% BC; 44% SK/MB; 42% QC). Similarly, residents of Alberta (68%) and Ontario (65%) are the most likely to agree that traditions like Canada's relationship with the monarchy are important parts of the country’s heritage, which remains high across regions except Quebec (vs. 55% ONT; 62% SK/MB; 41% QC; 62% ATL).

 Considering the royal family’s weakening favourability, interest in the coronation ceremony remains tepid. Indeed, only three in ten (28%) say they will watch the ceremony, which is higher among those aged 55+ (33% vs. 24% 18-34; 25% 35-54), while the same proportion (28%) will listen to or read news about it. Seventeen percent say they will probably talk about it with friends or family, while one in ten (11%) are likely to read up on the history of the Monarchy. Seven percent will post on social media about the event which is higher among those aged 18-34 (13% vs 7% 35-54; 1% 55+).

Only a small minority say they will buy a commemorative souvenir (6%), hold a party to celebrate the ceremony (3%) or travel to London to see it (3%). After all, the plurality of Canadians (45%) probably won’t be paying attention as they say they aren’t likely to do any of the above, which unsurprisingly, is higher among residents of Quebec (59%, +14 pts compared to the national average).

Canada’s relation to the British Monarchy over the last two decades

Over the past twenty years, Ipsos has tracked multiple public opinion metrics about the British Monarchy in Canada. Compiling these results, two major trends can be sketched out which seem to have accelerated since the death of Queen Elizabeth II:

• Over time, Canadians have become increasingly in favor of phasing out the British Monarchy from Canada’s institutions. First tracked in June 2011, support for ending Canada’s formal ties to the British Monarchy has trended upwards and has held a majority since February 2019 (52%). In April 2023, almost six in ten (58%) agree with this statement, which is significantly higher among residents of Quebec (75%, +17 points compared to national average).

Furthermore, for the first time since 2002, less than half (48%) of Canadians agree that the constitutional monarchy helps to define Canadian identity and should continue to be the form of government, which is higher among residents of Alberta (58%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (58%) and Ontario (58%) (vs. 41% BC; 34% QC; 45% ATL). While roughly 60% of Canadians used to agree with this statement between 2002 and 2019, the death of Queen Elizabeth II has marked the first tipping point in two decades for the institution to lose majoritarian support.

• Canadians have become progressively disillusioned with the British Monarchy. While Queen Elizabeth II has enjoyed consistent overwhelming support (viewed favourably by over 80% of Canadians since 2002), favourability towards the royal family has steadily declined over time. Since 2002, a strong majority of Canadians agrees that the King/Queen and the Royal Family should not have any formal role in Canadian society – believing that they royals are simply celebrities and nothing more. At its highest in two decades, two-thirds (67%) of Canadians currently agree with this statement, which is higher among Quebecers (81%, +14%) and younger generations (74% GenZ; 71% Millennials vs. 65% GenX; 62% Boomers).

Elsewhere, while a majority (53%) still believes that William and Catherine will keep the Monarchy relevant to Canadians, this represents its lowest point since 2011. Indeed, in July 2011, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge maintained the confidence of eight in ten Canadians (80%), but has since then steadily declined over the last ten years (-27 points). Today, this opinion is more widely held among residents of Alberta (64%), Atlantic Canada (63%) and Ontario (59%) (vs. 44% BC; 44% SK/MB; 42% QC).

 

 

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between April 19th and 20th, 2023, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

 

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Sean Simpson
Senior Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs Canada
+1 416 324 2002
[email protected]

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[1] Question wording changed: (September 2022) Now that Queen Elizabeth's reign has ended, Canada should end its formal ties to the British monarchy; (February 2021) Thinking about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's (Harry and Meghan) pending move to Canada where they intend to live part time, to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements: - When Queen  Elizabeth's reign ends Canada should end its formal ties to the British Monarchy.

[2] Question wording altered: (January 2020) Thinking about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's (Harry and Meghan) pending move to Canada where they intend to live part time, to what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements: - The Queen and the royal family should not have any formal role in Canadian society