The Public's Views on Canada and its Traditional Dominance in Hockey

Despite Canada's recent defeat by the U.S. in the World Cup of Hockey, an overwhelming majority of Canadians believe that hockey is still "Canada's game". Declared pro hockey fans were even more convinced of this. These findings emerged from a National Angus Reid/Southam News Poll conducted among a representative cross-section of 1,516 Canadians between September 20th and 29th.

Overall, four in five (79%) Canadians surveyed said that "Canada is still the best at hockey", even though it was defeated by the U.S. in the recent World Cup of Hockey. Just one in ten (10%) said that this defeat "marks the end of Canada's dominance of hockey".

The favourable opinion of Canada's hockey prowess is very consistent across major regions and socio-demographic groups. Albertans (87%) and younger Canadians (85%) are most convinced of this, as are those who identified themselves as pro hockey fans (88%, as opposed to 68% -- still a majority -- among non-fans, who were also less likely to have an opinion.)

In addition, six in ten (59%) Canadians surveyed disagreed with the argument that "in order for Canada to remain great at hockey, we should restrict Canada's junior leagues to young Canadians only and stop allowing non-Canadians to play in these junior leagues". One-third (34%) were in agreement. (Eight percent were unsure.)

Across the country, a majority from all regions disagreed with restricting non-Canadian participation in Canada's junior leagues save Manitoba/Saskatchewan where views were split. Disagreement with these restrictions rises with greater education and higher income levels. Younger Canadians also voiced higher opposition to restricting non-Canadian participation in Canada's junior hockey leagues. An attachment to hockey appears to be related to openness to foreign participation in Canada's junior leagues, as 63 percent of professional hockey fans disagreed with the statement, compared to a smaller majority (52%) of non-fans.

This National Angus Reid Poll was conducted by telephone between September 20th and 29th among a representative cross-section of 1,516 Canadian adults . The actual number of completed interviews in each region was as follows: B.C. - 200; Alberta - 150; Manitoba/Saskatchewan - 120; Ontario - 526; Quebec - 400; Atlantic - 120. These data were statistically weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/sex composition reflects that of the actual Canadian population according to the 1991 Census data. With a national sample of 1,516, one can say with 95 percent certainty that the results are within ±2.5 percentage points of what they would have been had the entire adult Canadian population been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population.

For further information, contact:

Darrell Bricker
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(613) 241-5802

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Angus Reid Group
(416) 324-2900