Nearly 7-in-10 Say They're Proud To Be Canadian
New data suggests Canadians are rallying around the flag in the face of American economic threats.
In December 2024, the Angus Reid Institute said that 34% of Canadians considered themselves ‘Very proud’ of Canada, with another 24% saying they were just ‘proud’. Fast-forward two months, and sprinkle in recent trade aggression from south of the border, and we’ve seen Canadians (Almost literally) start to rally around the flag.
Strong Majority Say They’re Proud To Be Canadian
Angus Reid’s February survey suggests 69% of Canadians consider themselves to either be very proud or proud to be Canadian, with another 18% saying they feel somewhat proud. Only 13% of respondents say they’re not proud to be Canadian.
The highest share of those saying they’re not proud is found in Quebec and Alberta, with 19% and 18% sharing that opinion, respectively. Perhaps it is unsurprising those two provinces stand out, given their past and present sentiments on independence. This is backed up in the data, with only 32% of 2021 Bloc Québécois voters saying they’re proud to be Canadian, with 34% saying they’re not.
On the other end of the spectrum, Atlantic Canadians are the proudest to call themselves Canadian, with 81% sharing that view and only 5% saying they’re not proud to be Canadian.
Centre-left voters continue to hold the highest levels of pride. The survey found 90% of 2021 Liberal voters, and 79% of Green voters consider themselves proud of the country, as well as 68% of New Democrats. Past Conservative voters clock in at 62%, with 20% saying they’re not proud to be Canadian.
Couple the rising level of pride in Canada among its people with the threat of American economic aggression, and Canadians have moved quickly to unify on some of the economic issues long facing the nation.
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On Interprovincial Trade and Oil, Canadians Say Move It
Angus Reid asked Canadians questions around trade, both within and outside of Canada, as well as their opinion on the need for oil and gas pipelines.
When asked whether Canadians agreed with the notion that Canada should move quickly to eliminate interprovincial trade barriers, a whopping 95% of Canadians agreed with the statement. Agreement with the statement is above 90% among all major parties, with Conservatives at the low end at 95%.
While a strong majority of Canadians agree with the notion that the nation needs oil and gas pipelines running east to west, at 79%, there’s a notable level of opposition to the idea, with 21% disagreeing.
Green voters are evenly split at 50% agreeing and disagreeing (Though with smaller sample sizes for 2021 Green voters, this number may be less accurate than results for the main three parties). Bloc voters are only slightly more favourable to the idea of oil and gas lines across the country, with 61% agreeing and 39% disagreeing.
Liberals and New Democrats clock in at 81% and 64%, respectively. Unsurprisingly, the highest level of agreement for the need for oil and gas infrastructure comes from past Conservative voters, with 95% agreeing with the statement.
These shift in attitudes on Canadian economic issues have been propelled back into the spotlight thanks to our nation’s reliance on the American economy, and the potential economic fallout should the Americans impose punitive tariffs on our goods. It’s unsurprising then that 91% of Canadians say Canada should reduce its reliance on the US as a trading partner, and look elsewhere to sell our goods.
While Canadians are ready to strike back at the American government for its economic threats, Canadians are split whether we should focus on repairing our relations with the US. 59% of Canadians say we should work to restore the relationship we had with the Americans like it was prior to the tariffs, with 41% saying we should avoid doing such a thing.
Support for repairing Canada-US relations is highest among Conservatives (76%), with Bloc (57%), Liberals (51%), and New Democrats (44%) being less inclined to agree with the notion.