Amid Royal Rifts, The Queen’s Approval Rating Remains High (81%), But Slim Majority (53%) is Skeptical of Monarchy’s Future Beyond Elizabeth II

Toronto, ON, February 3, 2020 — If 2019 wasn’t a difficult enough year for the monarchy, given Prince Andrew’s withdrawal from public life amid the controversy over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, it was handed yet another bombshell with the Sussex’s departure as senior members of the royal family.

Despite the tumultuous times for the House of Windsor, Queen Elizabeth’s approval rating has remained strong, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News: eight in ten (81%) agree that the Queen has done a good job in her role as monarch, unchanged since 2016. However, the proportion who strongly agree that she has done a good job is 36%, up 6 points since 2016. Moreover, the Queen’s 81% approval rating is up by 8 points when compared to an Ipsos poll released in June 2010, ahead of her official visit to Canada that year.

Approval of the Queen’s performance is highest in British Columbia (85%), Ontario (84%) and Atlantic Canada (84%), followed by Alberta (82%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (75%) and Quebec (72%). Women (84%) are more supportive than men (77%), while those aged 55+ (89%) give a significantly stronger assessment than those aged 35-54 (75%) or 18-34 (76%).

The broad affection shown towards the Queen, however, does not necessarily translate into support for the continuation of the monarchy. Despite very high approval ratings for Her Majesty, six in ten (62%) Canadians agree (28% strongly/35% somewhat) that the Queen and the royal family should not have any formal role in Canadian society, up 2 points since 2016. A majority of Canadians in every region agree with this position, ranging from 55% in Alberta to 76% in Quebec.  

A slim majority (53%) agrees (24% strongly/29% somewhat) that when Queen Elizabeth’s reign ends Canada should end its formal ties to the British monarchy, a figure that has remained unchanged since 2016, despite recent events. On this point there is no consensus, suggesting that a constitutional amendment to implement this change would be nearly impossible: a majority of Quebecers (70%) and residents of Saskatchewan and Manitoba (63%) agree formal ties should end, but only a minority in Atlantic Canada (49%), Ontario (46%), BC (46%) and Alberta (42%) believe that formal times should be severed.

Canadians Supportive and Excited about new Sussex Residents, but Reluctant to Pay for Security

Canadians are broadly supportive of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to break away from their royal roles and are even excited to welcome them and baby Archie as part-time residents of Canada, but relatively few are willing to have the Government of Canada pay for their security costs while in Canada.

• Eight in ten (82%) agree (30% strongly/52% somewhat) that they support the decision of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to remove themselves as working members of the royal family. Just two in ten (18%) disagree (4% strongly/14% somewhat) with their decision.
• Six in ten (61%) Canadians agree (15% strongly/45% somewhat) that they are excited about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s decision to move to Canada. Four in ten (39%) disagree (13% strongly/26% somewhat) and are not excited about the move. Excitement is highest in British Columbia (70%), where the Sussex family appears to be settling, while enthusiasm is only a little more muted in Ontario (62%), Quebec (60%), Alberta (56%) and Saskatchewan and Manitoba (56%). Only half (49%) of Atlantic Canadians express excitement. Women (64%) are more excited than men (57%).
• Just three in ten (30%) agree (9% strongly/21% somewhat) that they are supportive of the Government of Canada paying a portion of the costs to provide security to Harry and Meghan while they’re in Canada. Conversely, seven in ten disagree (42% strongly/28% somewhat) that they’d like government to hold the purse on these costs – underscoring the challenge for the Trudeau government on this file.

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between January 24^th and 27^th, 2020, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online. 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
Vice President, Ipsos Public Affairs
+1 416 324-2002
[email protected]

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