Albertans least likely to put province ahead of Canada, poll finds

Albertans are the least likely Canadians to put their province ahead of the country, even as Alberta heads to a fall referendum on separation, according to a new poll.

The Leger survey conducted for the Association for Canadian Studies (ACS) found 34 per cent of Albertans said they identify more strongly with their province or region than with Canada. In a similar ACS survey a year ago, the figure was 45 per cent. Alberta was the only region where it fell, and a majority (59 per cent) rejected the idea.

“I would have expected the opposite. I would expect Albertans to say they more strongly identify with their province or region than with Canada,” said Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies. The result surprised him more than any other finding in the survey.

British Columbians were the most likely of any region to put their province first, at 66 per cent, up sharply from 35 per cent a year ago. Jedwab said identification with province or region climbed across the country over the past year everywhere but Alberta. The poll found that 60 per cent of Quebecers and 58 per cent of Atlantic Canadians identify more strongly with their province or region, followed by 53 per cent in Manitoba and Saskatchewan and 42 per cent in Ontario.

Jedwab said he sees the Alberta result as a reaction to the separation debate. “I think what we’re seeing in this survey is some kind of pushback, where people are saying, ‘No, we’re not, we are strongly attached to Canada,’” he said.

Alberta will not vote on separating in October, but on whether the province should “commence the legal process required under the Canadian Constitution to hold a binding provincial referendum on whether or not Alberta should separate from Canada.”

“It’s the referendum about the referendum,” Jedwab said.

Across the country, pride and provincial identity did not appear to compete. Pride in being Canadian held at 86 per cent, near the high end of what the ACS has tracked over the years, and stayed about as strong among the people who identify most with their region. “The vast majority of Canadians don’t see the two in contradiction,” said Jedwab. The friction with the United States that began last year has also pushed pride up, he said.

The poll found that 91 per cent of B.C. respondents are proud to be Canadian, tied with people in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In Alberta, 88 per cent are proud Canadians, followed by Ontario (87 per cent), Atlantic Canada (83 per cent) and Quebec (81 per cent).

Pride also rose with age. Among Canadians 65 and older, 74 per cent strongly agreed they were proud to be Canadian, against 35 per cent of those aged 18 to 24, though overall agreement was similar across age groups (92 per cent for those over 65 strongly or somewhat agreed, compared to 82 per cent for the youngest cohort). “It’s like a fine wine, it grows with age,” said Jedwab.

Pride ran high among newcomers and Indigenous respondents as well. The poll found that 84 per cent of people born outside of Canada are proud to be Canadian, while 87 per cent of people born in Canada and 82 per cent of Indigenous respondents agreed.

The poll also found that French speakers were far more likely (69 per cent) than English speakers (39 per cent) to identify with their province over the country. Quebec votes Oct. 5, and Jedwab said the provincial party leading the polls there, the Parti Québécois, is advocating for separation.

The online survey of 1,518 Canadians was conducted June 5 to 7. A margin of error cannot be associated with a panel survey, but a probability sample of the same number of respondents would have a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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