National Unity

The late-November National Angus Reid Poll looked at the national unity climate as 1997 draws to an end. The poll highlights include:

The National Unity Climate

This poll's appraisal of the national unity climate suggests a bit of a thaw on some fronts. (See tables)

• In terms of attachment to Canada, three-quarters (73%) of Canadians now strongly agree with the statement: "I feel profoundly attached to Canada". This is up from 67 percent last fall and from 57 percent in a spring 1991 Angus Reid Poll. Residents of the rest of Canada remain more profoundly attached to Canada than Quebecers (84% vs. 41% express strong agreement), but there has been increased attachment in both blocs over the past half-dozen years (strong agreement is up 11 points in Quebec, and 18 points in the rest of Canada). (It should be noted, however, that non-Angus Reid polling done in Quebec at the time of the 1980 sovereignty-association referendum found 66 percent of Quebecers in strong agreement with this pro-Canada sentiment.)
• On the overall issue of whether it would be "better in the long run if Quebec were to separate", we find 22 percent of non-Quebecers and 39 percent of Quebecers currently in overall agreement with this sentiment. Again, the tracking data show there has been some movement on this, notably in Quebec where overall agreement is down 8 points from immediately after the 1995 referendum and down 14 points from the 53 percent high recorded in May 1990 just as Meech Lake hit the rocks. (See tables)
• A sizable number of Canadians - 43 percent nationally ( continue to agree with the complaint that "my province does not get its fair share from Confederation'. Ontarians distinguish themselves for not sharing this view (only 23% said Ontario does not get its share), and agreement was also below the majority mark in Alberta (40%). Elsewhere, agreement ranges from 56 percent in Manitoba/Saskatchewan and Quebec, to 57% in British Columbia, to 60% in the Atlantic region. (See tables)
• Finally, the overall state of the nation still elicits a very different prognosis from Quebecers and those living in the rest of Canada. Offered three broad options, Quebecers were divided as to whether "national unity has become weaker recently but can be strengthened" or "Canada is in serious trouble… the future of the country is threatened" (chosen respectively by 44% and 46% of surveyed Quebecers). In ROC, meanwhile, only one in four (26%) fear the latter prognosis and a solid majority of 63 percent believe the danger can be remedied. Only one in ten from either bloc described Canada "as strong today as it ever was".

This National Angus Reid Poll was conducted by telephone between November 20th and 25th, 1997 among a representative cross-section of 1,516 Canadian adults.

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 and 1996 Census data.

With a national sample of 1,516, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results are within plus or minus 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 more information on this news release, please contact:

Darrell Bricker, Executive Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(613) 241-5802

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

Christian Bourque, Directeur de recherche
Groupe Angus Reid
(514) 877-5550