OTTAWA - A new poll suggests ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs' sense of national pride has surged in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and threats against the country's sovereignty.
The poll, conducted by Leger Marketing for the Association for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Studies, says that the number of people saying they're proud to be ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø has jumped from 80 per cent in November 2024 to 86 per cent this month.
Pride is highest among people aged 55 and over — at 92 per cent — while 86 per cent of people between the ages of 35 and 54 and 75 per cent of people aged 18 to 34 said they were proud to be ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø.
The poll sampled more than 1,500 ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs from March 1 to March 2. Because it was conducted online, it can't be assigned a margin of error.
ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø pride spiked among respondents in Quebec, Ontario, the Prairies and British Columbia.
In Quebec, the number of people expressing pride in Canada has jumped from 81 per cent to 86 per cent since November. In Ontario, 87 per cent of respondents expressed pride in Canada, up from 80 per cent. Expressions of pride rose from 77 per cent to 86 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and from 70 per cent to 90 per cent in British Columbia.
The poll suggests that as the percentage of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs voicing pride in being ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø increased everywhere else, it fell in the Atlantic region and Alberta.
In Atlantic Canada, the number of respondents expressing pride has dropped slightly from 91 per cent to 89 per cent since November. In Alberta, it fell from 84 per cent to 74 per cent.
The survey also found that pride in being ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø is higher among francophones between the ages of 18 and 34 years old (80 per cent) than among anglophone youth (74 per cent).
Pride was higher among anglophones in other age categories, however; 89 per cent of anglophone ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs aged 35 to 54 said they're proud to be ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, compared to 84 per cent of francophones.
Ninety-three per cent of anglophone ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs aged 55 and older say they're proud to be ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, compared to 87 per cent of francophones.
The survey also suggests that pride in being ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø transcends other identity markers, with 81 per cent of visible minorities, 85 per cent of immigrants and 85 per cent of Indigenous respondents saying they're proud to be ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø.
Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Metropolis Institute and the Association for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Studies, said that while he’s not surprised by the numbers — given Trump's threats to use "economic force" to make Canada a U.S. state — it's the highest level of pride he has seen in his “decades of polling.â€
Jedwab noted that Quebec is bringing the number up nationally.
“The threats with which the Trump administration has moved forward have really made ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs think about the value of their country,†he said.
Jedwab said the common threat is creating a "powerful sense of unity."
Moments before Mark Carney was confirmed as the new Liberal leader and prime minister-designate on Sunday, former prime minister Jean Chrétien said in a speech that Trump was uniting ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs "as never before."
Another poll conducted by Leger for the Association for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Studies that sampled more than 1,500 ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs from March 1 to March 2 suggests that most ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs (53 per cent) believe they have more in common with Americans than with any other people in the world.
But almost eight in 10 respondents (78 per cent) think ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs have shared values that make them different from Americans.
Respondents cited what they saw as the key differences between the two countries. Fifteen per cent said ºÚÁϳԹÏÍøs are more welcoming and friendly than Americans, 14 per cent said they are kind and polite, 12 per cent said they are inclusive and 12 per cent said they respect civil rights.
“I think that some of that is a function of this thing that's coming out of the U.S. that gives the impression that we're dealing with bullies," said Jedwab. "And that's not who we are."
The polling industry's professional body, the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.
This report by ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø was first published March 12, 2025.
