With Canada Day approaching, one survey asks how proud Canadians feel

A child waves the Maple Leaf flag during Canada Day celebrations at LeBreton Flats in Ottawa, on Friday, July 1, 2022.

With Canada Day approaching, a new survey has found that most people feel proud to be Canadian.

The survey, published Friday by the Angus Reid Institute, shows that 79 per cent of respondents expressed some level of pride in being Canadian. A plurality, or 43 per cent, said they were “very proud” to be Canadian, 21 per cent said they were “proud” and 15 per cent were “somewhat proud.”

Ontario and Atlantic Canada showed the most pride in being Canadian, with around 50 per cent of respondents saying they are “very proud.”

While most people in all regions surveyed expressed some level of pride in being Canadian, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Quebec had the largest proportion of respondents who said they were either “not very proud” or “not proud at all.”

Twenty-eight per cent of people in Alberta said they were “not very proud” or “not proud at all” in being Canadian, compared to 23 per cent in Saskatchewan and 22 per cent in Quebec.

Canadians might have rediscovered their pride this year following economic attacks from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, the survey notes.

Optimism for future

Canadians’ optimism for their own future has been declining for many years, the survey notes.

Eighty-one per cent of respondents were “very” or “moderately optimistic” for their personal future in November 2018, compared to 61 per cent in December 2024.

Following the change in leadership in the U.S. last year, optimism rose by 11 points to 72 per cent in March 2025.

Optimism in the country’s future has also declined since mid-2017.

Sixty-five per cent of respondents said they were “very” or “moderately” optimistic for the country’s future, compared to 39 per cent in January 2025.

After Mark Carney replaced Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader and prime minster this year, optimism for the country’s future rose to 56 per cent as of May.

Quality of life

While most Canadians feel that the country offers a good quality of life, Canadians aged 35 to 54 are more likely than younger (22 per cent) and older (19 per cent) groups to say the country doesn’t offer a good quality of life at 28 per cent, according to the survey.

With Canada’s birth rate hitting an all-time record-low in 2023 – joining other “lowest-low” fertility countries such as South Korea, Spain, Italy and Japan – 60 per cent of respondents aged 18-34 say Canada is a good place to start a family, compared to 79 per cent of Canadians aged 65 and older. The average among all age groups was 68 per cent.

When asked if “Canada is a country where everyone has the same opportunities,” most Canadians, or 53 per cent, reported that the statement was inaccurate.

Older Canadians were more likely to believe that Canada is a country where everyone has the same opportunities, whereas younger Canadians were more likely to disagree.

Canadian pride rebounds

Although the latest Angus Reid survey shows most people feel proud to be Canadian, Canadian pride had been declining since 1985.

In 1985, 78 per cent of Canadians said they were “very proud” to be Canadian, compared to 34 per cent in 2024, an Angus Reid report from 2024 found.

Like the Friday report from Angus Reid, the 2024 report also found that Canadians aged 55 and older were more likely to feel “very proud” to be Canadian than younger age groups.

Eighty-two per cent of Canadians said the pandemic had “pulled people further apart” and 61 per cent said Canadians’ level of compassion for one another had grown weaker.

Methodology

The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from June 20 to 23, 2025, among a randomized sample of 1,619 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. The sample was weighted to be representative of adults nationwide according to region, gender, age, household income, and education, based on the Canadian census. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- two percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI. Detailed tables are found at the end of this release.