Hockey still rules in Canada despite heightened visibility of FIFA World Cup: survey

Hockey is still king in Canada despite the relative success of the national soccer team in this year’s FIFA World Cup, as well as the increased profile of Toronto and Vancouver as hosts of several games.

This is the conclusion shown by a Leger survey conducted for the Association of Canadian Studies, which sought to understand whether the heightened visibility of the World Cup has had an impact on Canadian sports preferences.

The findings from the July 10-12 survey suggest that hockey has a firm place at the top of the country’s favorite sport hierarchy. Though, soccer is establishing a firm foothold, says Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the association.

Hockey rules fairly evenly among men and woman, according to the survey. It rates highest among Canadians 18-24 (43 per cent), somewhat less among other age groups.

“Sports preferences likely become more diversified after age 25,” says Jedwab. “Hockey remains the leading choice, but Canadians between 25 and 44 appear more likely to divide their attention among soccer, basketball, baseball and football. In part, this reflects more exposure to a wider range of professional sports and international competitions.”

Soccer scores much less, 13 per cent among younger Canadians and less than that among all other age groups ranging from 24 to 65 years of age and older.

“The higher result (for soccer) among 18-to-24-year-olds,” says Jedwab, “may reflect renewed interest generated by the World Cup and Canada’s participation and the link between playing a sport and watching it, which is more common in the younger cohorts.”

Hockey is far more dominant in all parts of the country except Ontario: 36 per cent in Atlantic Canada, 45 per cent in Quebec, 40 per cent in Manitoba/Sask/Alta, 37 per cent in B.C. In Ontario, where there is “a more diverse menu” of available sports, says Jedwab, its popularity falls to 29 per cent.

“Ontario’s more varied sports preferences likely reflect both its demographic diversity and higher rate of first- and second-generation families as well as the larger number of professional sports teams. Residents have significant exposure to hockey, baseball, basketball, football and soccer, and many Ontarians come from cultural backgrounds where sports other than hockey are traditionally more prominent.”

In Quebec, hockey tops the heap, whereas baseball resonates more with English Canadians. Soccer is strongest among Canadian whose first language is something other than French or English. The presence of the Blue Jays in Toronto makes baseball far more popular in Ontario than elsewhere in Canada, suggests Jedwab.

There appears to be a difference influenced by the level of education, suggests the data. For Canadians with a high school diploma, hockey rates 41 per cent. For college grads it’s 37 per cent. For those with a university degree, hockey falls to 31 per cent. Almost the reverse is true for soccer, though at lower numbers: 12 per cent for university graduates, 6 per cent for college grads, and 7 per cent for those with a high school diploma.

University-educated Canadians are more likely to live in large, diverse urban centres, says Jedwab, where they have greater exposure to international sports, particularly soccer and basketball.

“Higher education may therefore be acting less as a direct cause than as a predictor of urban residence, immigration, cultural diversity and broader media consumption.”

He also notes that it’s “interesting” the data shows Canadians in higher income groups, those making $80-99,000 and $100,000 or more, are most likely to follow sports.

The survey was conducted with 1,505 respondents in Canada. A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey for comparison purposes. A probability sample of 1505 respondents would have a margin of error of ±2.5%, 19 times out of 20.

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