(03/08/13) -

Canadians, Hockey Fans Ready to Take Fighting Out of the Game

Two thirds of respondents in both sample groups support eliminating on-ice fights in professional hockey.

Most Canadians and hockey fans believe on-ice fights have no place in the game, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.

The online survey of representative national samples also shows that few respondents consider on-ice fights as an essential component to hockey.

The Hockey Game

Respondents were asked about their point of view on six features of hockey. Sizeable majorities of Canadians believe skating (88%) and shooting (83%) are essential components of the game—a view shared by more than nine-in-ten hockey fans.

The analysis is more nuanced when assessing the number of players per team and the width of the ice surface.

However, only eight per cent of Canadians—and seven per cent of hockey fans—believe on-ice fights are an essential component to hockey. In fact, two thirds of Canadians (66%) and hockey fans (67%) deem on-ice fights as “not important to hockey.”

Banning Fights

University hockey in Canada and the United States has already enacted rules for the automatic disqualification and suspension of players engaging in fights during hockey games.

Across the country, 78 per cent of Canadians—and 78 per cent of hockey fans—would support banning on-ice fights in Canada’s major junior (age 16-20) elite hockey leagues. In addition, 67 per cent of Canadians—and 68 per cent of hockey fans—believe on-ice fights should be eliminated from professional hockey.

Among all Canadians, Quebecers (74%) are the most likely to call for the end of on-ice fights in professional hockey, while Albertans are the least likely (59%, still a majority).

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 February 22 to February 26, 2013, Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey among 1,013 randomly selected Canadian adults, and 502 adults who regularly attend, listen to or watch hockey who are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error—which measures sampling variability—is +/- 3.1% for the sample of Canadian adults, and +/- 4.5% for the sample of fans. The national 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. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.