Majority (60%) of Canadians Unaware of NATO’s Mission

Toronto, ON, September 21, 2018 — Six in ten (60%) Canadians are unaware of NATO’s mission, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of the NATO Association of Canada.

The poll asked Canadians what international organization protects its member states by agreeing that an attack on one of them will be considered as an attack upon all, and that Canada is a member of it. From among a list of organizations provided, only four in ten (40%) were able to correctly identify it as NATO, while more (44%) believe that the mission described the United Nations. Others thought that the mission described NAFTA (6%), The League of Nations (4%), NASA (3%), the Justice League (3%) or SPECTRE (0%).

The data also showed that some are more likely to be unaware of NATO’s mission than others:

• Seven in ten (71%) women are unable to identify NATO by its mission, compared to 48% of men.
• Millennials (71%) were most unaware, compared to Boomers (53%) and Gen Xers (58%).
• Education plays a role: while most (68%) of those without a high-school education or only a high-school diploma (65%) could not identify NATO by its mission, those with some post-secondary education (57%) or a university degree (48%) were less likely to get it wrong.
• Regionally, those in Quebec (68%) were most likely to not know, followed by those living in Atlantic Canada (64%), BC (61%), Ontario (56%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (55%) and Alberta (52%).

About the Study

These are the finding of an Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of the NATO Association of Canada, through a national survey of 1,025 Canadians aged 18+ who completed their surveys online. The study was in field February 5-6, 2018. Quota sampling and weighting are 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 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:
Darrell Bricker, PhD
CEO
Ipsos Global Public Affairs
+1 416 324-2001
[email protected]

About Ipsos Public Affairs

Ipsos Public Affairs is a non-partisan, objective, survey-based research practice made up of seasoned professionals. We conduct strategic research initiatives for a diverse number of Canadian American and international organizations, based not only on public opinion research, but elite stakeholder, corporate, and media opinion research.
Ipsos has media partnerships with the most prestigious news organizations around the world. In Canada, Ipsos Public Affairs is the polling partner for Global News. Internationally, Ipsos Public Affairs is the media polling supplier to Reuters News, the world's leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. Ipsos Public Affairs is a member of the Ipsos Group, a leading global survey-based market research company. We provide boutique-style customer service and work closely with our clients, while also undertaking global research.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is an independent market research company controlled and managed by research professionals. Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos has grown into a worldwide research group with a strong presence in all key markets. Ipsos ranks fourth in the global research industry.
With offices in 88 countries, Ipsos delivers insightful expertise across five research specializations: brand, advertising and media; customer loyalty; marketing; public affairs research; and survey management.
Ipsos researchers assess market potential and interpret market trends. They develop and build brands. They help clients build long-term relationships with their customers. They test advertising and study audience responses to various media and they measure public opinion around the globe.
Ipsos has been listed on the Paris Stock Exchange since 1999 and generated global revenues of €1,782.7 million in 2016.