Pride in Being Canadian Increasing (21%) and Decreasing (21%) in Equal Measure

Toronto, Ontario, June 30, 2023 — Four in ten Canadians (42%) say the amount to pride they feel in being Canadian has changed in the last five years, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of Global News. One in five (21%) are more likely to feel proud to be Canadian compared to five years ago, yet an equal proportion (21%) feel less proud to be Canadian. Moreover, younger Canadians, Millennials in particular, are more likely to feel less proud (24%) compared to Boomers (17%); conversely, men are more likely to feel proud (24%) than women (18%).

There are also regional differences as Canadians in Alberta (29%) as well as Saskatchewan and Manitoba (26%) are more likely to feel less proud to be Canadian than they were five years ago compared to Canadians living in BC (23%), Ontario (22%) Quebec (15%) and Atlantic Canada (15%).

Nearly Half (45%) are Changing the Way they Mark Canada Day

Nearly half (45%) of Canadians are changing the way that they commemorate Canada Day compared to five years ago. While around half of Canadians say they’re just as likely this year to attend a festival, event or party (55%), or display the Canadian flag (57%) compared to five years ago, around a quarter are more likely to attend a Canada Day festival, event or party (23%) or to display a Canadian flag around Canada Day (24%). A similar proportion are less likely to attend an event (22%) and two in ten are less likely to display a Canadian flag around Canada Day (20%).

There have been other shifts in behaviours when it comes to pride in Canadian identity. Although over half (51%) are just as likely to speak positively about Canada to those who are not from Canada as they were five years ago, around four in ten (35%) are more likely to speak positively about Canada to people who are not from Canada and around one in ten (14%) are less likely to speak positively about Canada.

Gen Z and Millennials Driving Behaviour Change on Canada Day

While Gen Z (32%) and Millennials (30%) are more likely to attend a Canada Day festival, event or party compared to Gen X (20%) and Boomers (14%), Millennials are also more likely to feel less proud to be Canadian than five years ago (24%) compared to Boomers (17%). Gen Z are less likely to display a Canadian flag around Canada day (26%) than five years ago, compared to significantly fewer Boomers (16%) who feel the same.

Differences across generations persist when looking at how Canadians speak about Canada.  Significantly more Millennials (19%) and Gen X’ers (14%) are less likely to speak positively about Canada now than they were five years ago, compared to Boomers (9%). Boomers are most inclined to have not changed how positively they would speak about Canada (62%).

Canadians in Quebec are significantly more likely to speak positively about Canada to those not from Canada (41% vs. 35% AB, 34% ATL, 33% ON, 31% BC, 30% SK/MB).

Those with children are significantly more likely to display the flag around Canada Day (33%) than those without kids (20%), more likely to attend a Canada Day festival (34%) than those with no kids (18%) and to speak positively about Canada (41%) than those without kids (32%).

Women, University Graduates and Younger Generations More Likely to Educate Themselves on Indigenous history than Five Years Ago

Four in ten (39%) Canadians overall are more likely to say they will learn more about Indigenous history in Canada compared to five years ago. One’s desire to learn more about Indigenous history compared to five years ago is higher among women (44%) than men (34%), and among university graduates (44%) compared to those with a high school education (35%).

Generationally, Millennials and Gen Z stand out as being most likely to learn more about Indigenous history compared to five years ago. Almost half of Millennials (47%) and Gen Z (46%) say they are more likely to learn about Indigenous history than five years ago, with a lower proportion of Boomers (32%) saying the same. Around half of Gen X (51%) and Boomers (53%) have not changed how likely they are to learn about Indigenous history compared to five years ago.

A small but notable proportion of the population (13%) say they are less likely to learn about Indigenous history in Canada.

About the Study

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between June 19 and 20, 2023, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 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
+1 416 324 2002
[email protected]

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