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World Sees Canada as Tolerant, Generous Nation
- Many adults in 20 countries hold Canada in high regard, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies for Maclean's. 89 per cent of respondents believe Canadians are tolerant of people from different backgrounds, and 80 per cent think the country is home to one of the most technologically advanced economies in the world.
In addition, 70 per cent of respondents describe Canada as a very generous country in giving aid to poorer countries, and 67 per cent say the country is an essential contributor to peacekeeping around the world.
In each one of the nations surveyed, at least 82 per cent of respondents described Canadians are tolerant. Only in Turkey did fewer than half of respondents see Canada as a generous nation.
Multiculturalism was adopted as an official government policy in 1971, and ratified under the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988. In 2001, almost 5.5 million of Canada's 30 million inhabitants were immigrants.
In July 2005 at the G-8 summit in Perthshire, Scotland, the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States agreed to double humanitarian assistance to Africa to $50 billion U.S. by 2010. There was no consensus on a proposal to commit 0.7 per cent of each nation's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to promote economic development in poor countries by 2015. The 0.7 per cent goal was first proposed in 1969 by Canadian prime minister Lester Pearson.
Since 1947, more than 125,000 Canadian soldiers have acted as UN peacekeepers, the largest number of troops to serve in that capacity from any country in the world.
In August, Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper pledged $22.2 million U.S. for assistance in Lebanon, and reiterated that Canada would not participate in any peacekeeping operation in the Middle East.
Polling Data
How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements about Canada?
Agree | Disagree | |
Canadians are tolerant of people from | 89% | 11% |
Canada is home to one of the most | 80% | 20% |
Canada is a very generous country in | 70% | 30% |
Canada is an essential contributor to | 67% | 33% |
Source: Angus Reid Strategies / Maclean's
Methodology: Online interviews with 5,800 adults in Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United States, conducted from Sept. 22 to Oct. 6, 2006.
