Eighty-five per cent of Canadians say they’re proud to be Canadian — up five percentage points from nearly one year ago,
according to a new poll
.
The Leger poll conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies found that Atlantic Canadians and those in Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the most proud (91 per cent). They’re followed by those in Alberta (86 per cent), Ontarians (85 per cent) and people in British Columbia (84 per cent). Quebecers feel the least national pride, with 79 per cent saying they’re proud to be Canadian.
The numbers were slightly different just one month ago, when 86 per cent of Canadians said they were proud. In early March, 86 per cent of Quebecers and 77 per cent of Albertans said they were proud to be Canadian. In November 2024, the number was the same for Quebecers but only 70 per cent of British Columbians were proud to be Canadian.
“This has to be understood in terms of what’s happened since the election of Donald Trump and the current campaign,” said Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies. “There’s a lot of volatility right now in terms of our relationship with the United States, a lot of head-scratching and people asking themselves, ‘Where do we stand with the country we perceive to be our closest ally, and what does this mean for who we are?’”
In the 2025 federal election, national unity has come up as an issue, with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith warning of an “unprecedented national unity crisis” should several demands not be met by the incoming government.
However, this poll, along with others, seems to show the overwhelming majority of Canadians have a strong attachment to their nation.
In every region of the country — with the exception of Quebec — the number of people who say they take pride in Canada is higher than the number of people who say they take pride in their province.
“Pride in being Canadian exceeds pride in province for the rest of the country,” said Jedwab.
In Quebec, 79 per cent say they are proud to be Canadian and 80 per cent say they are proud to be Quebecers. Elsewhere, the gap is wider: 91 per cent of Atlantic Canadians say they are proud to be Canadian compared to 85 per cent who say they are proud of their province.
Ninety-one per cent of those in Saskatchewan and Manitoba say they are proud to be Canadian compared to 75 per cent who show pride in their province. In Alberta, 86 per cent of people say they are proud to be Canadian, while 73 per cent say they are proud of their province. Eighty-five per cent of Ontarians say they are proud to be Canadian, while 82 per cent say they are proud of their province. And in British Columbia, 84 per cent say they are proud to be Canadian, and 82 per cent say they are proud of their province.
At nearly 93 per cent, Liberal voters have the most pride in Canada, followed by Conservative voters at 86 per cent and NDP voters at 83 per cent. Only 64 per cent of those who say they are voting for the Bloc Québécois — an avowedly separatist party – say they are proud to be Canadian. (Forty-eight per cent of those polled also said that an independent Quebec would be less able to deal with U.S. trade threats.)
“I suspect a lot of Albertans are also thinking that their capacity on their own to … be effective in defending against this threat is probably something that they’re coming to understand is not going to be most effective,” said Jedwab.
The survey of 1,631 people was conducted online by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies between April 5 and 6. A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey for comparison purposes. A probability sample of 1,631 respondents would have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
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