Trudeau acknowledges charges in Nijjar killing, calls for commitment to democracy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
A recent study by the Angus Reid Institute found Canadians view their country more positively than Americans do — but only a slight majority of people in Canada believe their system of government is good.
The results of the online survey, released Thursday, show 78 per cent of Canadians view their country as caring, compared to 36 per cent of Americans who said the same about the U.S.
Eighty-nine per cent of Canadians say they live in a safe country, while 43 per cent of Americans say they do.
Sixty-two per cent of Canadians also believe their country contributes positively to world affairs compared to only 39 per cent of Americans.
"Canadians' perceptions of their country have become more positive in the last 12 months," the report says.
"In January 2022, the country was dealing with the Omicron wave of COVID-19 with public health restrictions. Majorities of Canadians said on the eve of the two-year anniversary of the pandemic that COVID-19 pulled Canadians apart and brought out the worst in people. Perhaps time has healed some of those divisions."
The online survey took place between March 15 and 17 and involved "a representative randomized sample" of 1,649 Canadians, and 1,025 Americans, the institute said.
Although more Canadians than Americans believe their system of government is good, only a slight majority of Canadians – 51 per cent – said so compared to 34 per cent in the U.S.
The remaining respondents either said their system of government is not good or were unsure.
Positive attitudes about Canada's system of government were highest in Quebec at 57 per cent and lowest in Alberta (38 per cent) and Saskatchewan (33 per cent).
Taking a closer look at the data, men are less likely than women — 47 per cent compared to 54 per cent — to say Canada's system of government is good.
The same is true of younger Canadians who are generally less likely to say the country has a good system of government at 44 per cent of those 18-34 and 48 per cent of people 35-54, compared to 56 per cent of Canadians 55 and older.
However, some variations exist when comparing men and women of different generations and when broken down into smaller age groups.
Across household incomes, Canadians making $50,000 a year or less were the only group where fewer than 50 per cent said Canada has a good system of government.
Fewer than half of Canadians with a college or trade school education or less also viewed Canada's system of government positively.
Forty-eight and 45 per cent of Indigenous and visible minority respondents, respectively, said Canada's system of government is good, compared to 52 per cent of non-visible minority respondents.
How Canadians see their country also varied depending on their political alignments, with those who voted Liberal in the 2021 federal election generally viewing Canada more positively compared to Conservative, Bloc Quebecois and NDP voters.
On the same question of whether Canada has a good system of government, Liberal voters were most likely to say it does at 77 per cent, while only 30 per cent of Conservative voters said so.
Regionally, Canadians generally agreed that Canada is a safe and caring society.
Quebec respondents were most likely to say Canada is a country they are proud to live in at 83 per cent, with respondents in Saskatchewan coming in the lowest at 60 per cent.
Those in Quebec were also more likely to say Canada is a prosperous country at 75 per cent compared to 54 per cent in Saskatchewan.
"Those in Quebec and Saskatchewan find themselves at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to assessing the country they live in," the report says. "Saskatchewan residents are typically more critical, while Quebecers offer more praise."
On racial divisions, however, Quebec respondents were the least likely to say the country is racially divided at 25 per cent. Saskatchewan was the only region where a majority of respondents — 51 per cent — believed the country is racially divided.
Canadians' views of the United States have improved in some categories compared to more than a year ago.
Forty-seven per cent of people now say the U.S. is a positive player in world affairs compared to 36 per cent in January 2022.
Slightly more people — 27 per cent — view the U.S. as a caring society, up from 24 per cent; 34 per cent say it is a safe country compared to 23 per cent more than a year ago; and 25 per cent say it has a good system of government, up from 20 per cent.
However, fewer Canadians view the U.S. as a prosperous country at 67 per cent compared to 72 per cent in January 2022.
On whether the U.S. is a racially divided country, Canadians' attitudes remained relatively unchanged at about 80 per cent who agree.
As for how Americans view Canada, the United States generally views its northern neighbour more favourably than itself, with 56 per cent of Americans saying Canada is a caring country and 64 per cent saying it's safe.
The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) conducted an online survey from March 15 to 17, 2023, among a representative randomized sample of 1,649 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.
ARI conducted a second online survey from March 15 to 17, 2023, among a representative randomized sample of 1,025 American adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum USA. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has acknowledged the charges laid Friday in relation to the murder of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.
Sheldon Keefe told his players hockey history would remember them one way or another.
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Princess Anne paid tribute to veterans buried at a cemetery in British Columbia today, laying a wreath to honour the more than 2,500 military personnel and family members buried there.
Mystik Dan won the 150th Kentucky Derby in a photo finish, edging out Forever Young and Sierra Leone for the upset victory.
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.