Six in 10 (60%) Canadians Feel Hockey Canada Scandals Reflect Broader Problem with Sexual Harassment within Hockey Culture in Canada
Toronto, ON, October 25, 2022 – For many Canadians, hockey is considered an important part of Canadian culture and national identity, which has recently been brought to national attention in the wake of scandals surrounding Hockey Canada. A new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News finds that while most Canadians see the Hockey Canada scandals as the tip of the iceberg when it comes to issues of sexual harassment in hockey culture in Canada and with organized sport more broadly, there is hope that things are on their way to improvement. However, clear gender divides in the data point to differing experiences among men and women.
When asked for their view on sexual assault scandals recently impacting players involved with Hockey Canada, six in 10 (60%) Canadians say these scandals reflect a broader problem with sexual harassment, assault, and violence within hockey culture in Canada. Just under one-fifth (18%) feel the scandals represent isolated incidents and are not reflective of the broader hockey culture in Canada, while 22% are not aware of the Hockey Canada Scandals. Notably, while there are no significant differences in opinion between men and women when it comes to agreement that the scandals reflect a more pervasive problem, men (23%) are significantly more likely than women (13%) to say the scandals are isolated incidents. A strong majority (85%) of Canadians also feel that hockey is no different from other organized sports when it comes to sexual harassment and violence, with no significant differences across demographics.
On the issue of who is responsible for permitting this culture to continue, Canadians aware of the scandals see most blame falling to hockey team managers and directors (73%), coaches (64%), team owners (60%), and players (60%). To a lesser extent, 32% of Canadians attribute responsibility to parents of players as well. Women are significantly more likely than men to feel those in leadership positions such as managers and directors (81% among women, 66% among men), team owners (69% women, 53% men), and coaches (72% women, 58% men) as responsible.
Canadians Hopeful About Positive Changes, Though Gender Divides Persist on Actions Taken by Sponsors and the Way Forward
Although the Hockey Canada scandals have caused disruption on a national level, there is broad agreement that the actions taken in their wake have been steps in the right direction. A strong majority (85%) feel that the various corporate sponsors, amateur hockey leagues, and governments did the right thing by withdrawing their support from Hockey Canada, though agreement is significantly higher among women (89% vs. 80% men), and men are significantly more likely to disagree (20% vs 11% women).
When asked which measures would be most effective to guarantee a safe and inclusive environment for hockey players in Canada, the most commonly cited measure is to enact stricter rules to better govern hockey associations (33%), followed by including mandatory awareness training for young hockey players (31%), increasing resources for players to reach out in case something happens (25%) and including mandatory awareness for coaches (24%). Just under one-quarter (23%) say increasing surveillance measures of young players would be effective, significantly higher among women (26% vs. 19% among men). Eight in 10 Canadians (82%) also agree that all players registered in hockey leagues in Canada should take training on sexual harassment and violence, significantly higher among women (88% vs. 77% men), and with which men are significantly more likely to disagree (23% vs. 12% men).
Most (78%), all told, are confident that with a new board of directors in place, Hockey Canada will make changes for the better. Additionally, most (78%) say they are optimistic that hockey culture in Canada will change for the better because of the attention these scandals are now getting. However, it is worth noting that this optimism toward broader change is driven largely by high portions who say they only somewhat agree (59%), indicating recognition of the long road ahead with regard to substantive cultural change.
About the Study
These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between October 18-20th, 2022, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,001 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:
Darrell Bricker
CEO, Ipsos Global Public Affairs
+1 416 324-2001
[email protected]
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