(12/28/11) -

Canadians Happy with Daily Lives, While Americans and Britons Ponder Moves

More than half of Britons say they would live in a respectful and peaceful society if they moved to Canada.

People in Canada are more satisfied with certain aspects of their life than their counterparts in the United States and Britain, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll conducted in partnership with Maclean’s magazine has found.

The online survey of representative national samples in Canada, the United States and Great Britain also asked respondents about their country’s position in the world, and whether a move abroad would be beneficial for them.

“The Greatest”

A large proportion of Americans (89%) and Canadians (86%) agree with the notion that their own country is “the greatest in the world”, but only half of Britons (50%) openly express the same feelings about the United Kingdom. In the three countries, respondents over the age of 55 are more likely to express positive feelings than those aged 18-to-34.

Two-in-five Canadians (42%) believe the best days for their country are ahead, while 22 per cent feel the best days are behind. Americans are almost evenly split on this question (Ahead 36%, Behind 33%), while Britons side with the notion that the best days for the United Kingdom are behind by a 3-to-1 margin (58% to 17%).

Views of Canadians

For the most part, Canadians do not feel that they would have better opportunities in the United States or the United Kingdom. Almost nine-in-ten Canadians think their own country is the best place for them to raise a family (87%) and live in a respectful and peaceful society (86%), and at least two thirds regard Canada as the best place to provide a better standard of living for their families (75%) and have access to high quality health care (67%). More than half of Canadians (54%) think they would be able to find a better job than the one they currently have in Canada, while 17 per cent believe they would do better in the United States.

Views of Americans

About three-in-five Americans believe the U.S. is the best place for them to raise a family (61%) and provide a better standard of living for their family (59%). Half of Americans (50%) also think that they would be able to find a better job in the U.S. than the one they currently have. However, Americans are not as convinced about two other aspects of their daily lives. One third of respondents think they would have access to high quality health care in Canada (35%, compared to 43% in the U.S.) and that they would live in a respectful and peaceful society if they were to relocate to Canada (33%, compared to 43% in the U.S.).

Views of Britons

Respondents in Britain do not currently endorse many aspects of their daily lives in the same fashion as Americans and Canadians. The one domestic area that is ranked highest is having access to high quality health care (47%). In fact, many Britons are looking to Canada as a good place to raise a family (46%), provide a better standard of living to their family (47%) and live in a respectful and peaceful society (61%). In addition, three-in-ten Britons (30%) think they would find a better job in Canada than the one they currently have in Britain.

Analysis

Canadians appear particularly happy with their daily lives, especially in the aspects related to society, family and health. It is important to note that while about one-in-six Canadians believe that they could get a better job in the United States, only two per cent consider the neighbouring country as a respectful and peaceful society, and as the best place to raise a family.

Americans may not see much hope in Canada’s labour market, but appear to be aware of certain Canadian traits that are of interest, particularly in society and health care. Still, raising a family in America is definitely the preferred course of action for most respondents. Less than one-in-ten are looking at Britain as a good place to enhance their lives.

Britons are definitely not satisfied with the status quo at this point, with predominantly low support for the questions related to society, family and work. A large proportion of Britons look at Canada as a good place to start over. And while Britons over the age of 55 are more likely to say that their country is the greatest in the world, they are also more likely to say that the United Kingdom’s best days are behind.

Full Report, Detailed Tables and Methodology (PDF)

CONTACT:

Mario Canseco, Vice President, Angus Reid Public Opinion
+877 730 3570
mario.canseco@angus-reid.com

Methodology: From September 28 to September 30, 2011 Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,003 Canadian adults who are Angus Reid Forum panellists, 1,007 American adults who are Springboard America panellists, and 2,115 British adults who are Springboard UK panellists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1% for Canada and the United States, and 2.2 per cent for Great Britain. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and region Census data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of Canada, the US and Great Britain. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.