Seven in Ten (69%) Proud of Canada’s Presence at World Cup
Toronto, ON, November 18th, 2022 – Canada’s recent announcement of its official roster for the 2022 FIFA World Cup has brought Canadians one step closer to Qatar. But will Canadians be torn between their Canadian pride and other allegiances, or do they not care at all? The results of a new Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News show that while seven in ten (69%) agree that Canada’s qualification makes them proud to be Canadian (21% strongly; 48% somewhat), six in ten (63%) also agree that they couldn’t care less about the event (37% strongly; 26% somewhat).
The World Cup’s Importance: A Generational Gap
Despite the total viewership of the World Cup likely being counted in billions, Canadians may not rush to tune in. Indeed, six in ten (63%) agree that they couldn’t care less about the competition, which includes more than a third (37%) who strongly agree (26% somewhat). Moreover, only a third (34%) agree that they will be paying close attention to the World Cup – which is higher among men (42% vs. 27% for women). While two thirds (66%) disagree (38% strongly; 27% somewhat).
Despite the tepid level of interest among Canadians for the World Cup, a minority (26%) could be described as World Cup fanatics. They say the FIFA World Cup is even more important to them than the Olympics.
Interest in the World Cup is driven by age. Younger Canadians are more interested than their parents and grandparents. Those aged 18-34 are especially more likely to pay close attention to the event (44% vs. 34%: 35-54; 27%: 55+), and they are significantly more likely to say that the World Cup is more important to them than the Olympics (45% vs. 26%: 35-54; 12%: 55+).
Increased interest doesn’t automatically translate to fervent support for the Canadian team. While a quarter (24%) of Canadians say they will mostly cheer for another country, this proportion jumps to 45% for those aged 18-34 (vs. 26%: 25-54; 6%: 55+). Inversely, three quarters (76%) disagree that they’ll be cheering for another country, which is significantly higher among older Canadians (94%: 55+; 74%: 35-54 vs. 55%: 18-34).
Regionally, Albertans are more likely to cheer for another country (36% vs. 22%: BC; 10%: SK/MB; 26%: ON; 23% QC; 12%: ATL), while residents of Saskatchewan/Manitoba and the Atlantic provinces are more likely to disagree, staying true to Team Canada (respectively 90% and 88% vs. 78%: BC; 64%: AB; 74%: ON; 77%: QC).
Managing Expectations: Will Canada Punch Above its Weight?
While Canadians have waited almost four decades to qualify for the World Cup, six in ten (59%) believe that their national team’s qualification demonstrates that the country is a sports powerhouse (11% strongly; 48% somewhat). Men (14% vs. 9% for women) and those aged 18-34 (18% vs. 9% for both 35-54 and 55+) are more likely to strongly agree with this sentiment.
It appears that expectations for the Canadian team’s performance are disconcertingly high given that this is their first World Cup tournament since 1986. However, facing a daunting group stage, a third (32%) say they don’t know how far the nation’s team will go.
Being in the same group as Belgium (the tournament’s second seed and the 2018 third place team) and Croatia (the 2018 runner up), 16% believe Canada will not be able to advance to the knockout stage, which is significantly higher among men (26% vs. 6% for women). A fifth believe Canada will be eliminated in the round of 16 and 15% believe they will be eliminated in the quarter finals. Roughly 1 in 14 believes that Canada will be among the last 4 teams standing, while 7% anticipate seeing Canada in the finals – with 4% believing the team will win the tournament. Allez les Rouges et Blancs!
How Far Canadians Think Canada Will Go in the Tournament
About the Study
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between November 11th-15th, 2022, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,005 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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