Angus Reid Global Monitor : Polls & Research

Canadians Expect Unity in the Future

July 05, 2006

- Few adults in Canada expect Quebec to become independent in the next 14 years, according to the Canada in 2020/Dominion Institute survey conducted by Innovative Research Group. Only 23 per cent of respondents think the province will have separated from Canada.

In November 2005, former provincial cabinet minister André Boisclair became the new leader of the separatist Parti Québécois (PQ). Boisclair has promised a new referendum on sovereignty should his party emerge victorious in the next provincial election. Quebec voters rejected sovereignty in two referendums, held in 1980 and 1995.

Canadians renewed the House of Commons in January. The Conservative party—led by Stephen Harper—received 36.3 per cent of the vote, and secured 124 seats in the 308-member lower house. Since February, Harper leads a minority administration after more than 12 years of government by the Liberal party.

As far as other topics, more than seven-in-ten Canadians expect the gap between the rich and poor to widen, and for global warming to become the greatest crisis facing mankind. Two-thirds of respondents believe Canada will be a more tolerant and caring society, with increased influence in international affairs.

At least 400 soldiers—including 16 Canadians—have died in the war on terrorism, either in support of the U.S.-led Operation Enduring Freedom or as part of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). 33 per cent of respondents think a significant number of Canadian troops will still be deployed in Afghanistan by 2020.

Polling Data

Do you agree with the following statements? By the year 2020...

The gap between the rich and poor will have widened

78%

Global warming will have become the
greatest crisis facing mankind

72%

Energy conservation and new technologies
will have made the environment better

68%

A cure for breast cancer will have been discovered

67%

Canada will be a more tolerant and caring society

66%

Canada's influence in international affairs
will have increased considerably

66%

There will have been a worldwide flu pandemic

51%

There will be little difference between
Canadian and American foreign policy values

48%

A significant number of Canadian troops
will be deployed in Afghanistan

33%

The province of Quebec will have separated from Canada

23%

Global terrorism will no longer be a threat to Canadian society

22%

Source: Innovative Research Group / Dominion Institute
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,007 Canadian adults, conducted from Jun. 15 to Jun. 18, 2006. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.

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