Most Canadians Can Identify "In Flanders Fields" (76%) by John McCrae (61%) as Canadian Poem Written During First World War
In Flanders Fields...
When presented with a list of six candidates, three quarters (76%) of Canadians could correctly identify In Flanders Fields as the Canadian poem written during the First World War 100 years ago. But one quarter (24%) of Canadians could not identify it as such, instead believing that The Wars (9%), All Quiet on the Western Front (4%), My Boy Jack (4%), Death of a Young Son Drowning (3%) or The Cenotaph (3%) was the famous Canadian poem written during the Great War.
Interestingly, Canadians aged 18 to 34 were most likely (80%) to correctly identify In Flanders Fields as the poem, followed by those aged 55+ (79%) and finally those aged 35 to 54 (71%). Regionally, those in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (97%), Alberta (93%) and Atlantic Canada (92%) were most likely to identify it, followed by those in British Columbia (88%) and Ontario (88%). While the poem was originally written in English, a French translation does exist. However, only 34% of Quebecers could identify the answer to the question.
John McCrae, Author...
Among a list of six authors, six in ten (61%) Canadians could identify John McCrae as having written In Flanders Fields, although four in ten (39%) did not. Timothy Findlay (15%) was the leading incorrect candidate, followed by Stephen Leacock (8%), Margaret Atwood (6%), Rudyard Kipling (6%) or Mordecai Richler (3%).
Once again, young adults paved the way with their superior knowledge, with 68% correctly answering the question, more than the 63% of those aged 55+ and 55% of those aged 35 to 54 who identified McCrae as the author. Regionally, Ontarians (74%), Atlantic Canadians (73%) and Albertans (73%) were most likely to answer correctly, while British Columbians (63%), residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (54%) and Quebecers (34%) were less likely.
Most (74%) Canadians Support In Flanders Fields Being Designated as Canada's National Poem...
Three quarters (74%) of Canadians `agree' (33% strongly/41% somewhat) that `In Flanders Fields should be designated as Canada's National Poem by an Act of Parliament', while just one quarter (26%) `disagrees' (10% strongly/16% somewhat) with this position. The idea has a majority of support in every region of the country, including Quebec (51%).
In Flanders Fields by memory...
Interestingly, three in ten (30%) Canadians `agree' (8% strongly/22% somewhat) that they `can recite the poem In Flanders Fields by memory - matching the 30% of the population that could correctly identify the first verse. Admittedly, seven in ten (70%) Canadians `disagree' (41% strongly/29% somewhat) that they can recite the poem by memory.
With support for making the poem Canada's national poem so high, it's not surprising that eight in ten (82%) agree (47% strongly/35% somewhat) that hearing In Flanders Fields recited on Remembrance Day enhances their appreciation for Canada's veterans, and most (84%) agree (50% strongly/34% somewhat) that every Remembrance Day ceremony in Canada should include a reading of In Flanders Fields.
The poem has a preeminent position in Canadian culture, so much so that two in three (66%) Canadians `agree' (41% strongly/24% somewhat) that they learned In Flanders Fields as a child, rising to 73% agreement among those aged 18 to 34.
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos Reid poll conducted between October 29 to November 2, 2015, on behalf of The Vimy Foundation. For this survey, a sample of 1,006 Canadians from Ipsos' Canadian online panel was interviewed online. Weighting was then employed to balance demographics to ensure that the sample's composition reflects that of the adult population according to Census data and to provide results intended to approximate the sample universe. 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 Canadian adults 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
Vice President
Ipsos Public Affairs
(416) 572-4474
[email protected]
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