Canadian Pride

From the Globe and Mail:

"Universal Health Care Much Loved Among Canadians"

Canadians, it seems, love their universal health care. The monarchy? Not so much. A new national poll commissioned by the Montreal-based Association for Canadian Studies examined the pride Canadians place in a list of more than a dozen symbols, achievements and attributes. The online survey of 2,207 respondents by Leger Marketing found universal health care was almost universally loved, with 94 per cent calling it an important source of collective pride – including 74 per cent who called it “very important.”  At the other end of the spectrum, just 39 per cent of respondents felt the monarchy was a source of personal or collective pride, while 59 per cent were royally unimpressed. In fact, 32 per cent of respondents found the monarchy “not at all important” – the most popular singular response. The findings provide an interesting snapshot of the country after seven years under a Stephen Harper government that’s made a priority of promoting its own blend of nation-building symbols. But Canada’s economic performance finished among the top four pride-instilling achievements. Rounding out the top four – with 60 per cent calling it “very important” and nine out of 10 respondents deeming it important – was the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

“One of the ones that does really well – the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms – is one the government was more hesitant about,” said Mr. Jedwab. The Conservatives consciously downplayed this year’s 30th anniversary of the Charter, choosing to mark the occasion with a simple press release.

By contrast, the government has budgeted more than $28-million to mark the 200th anniversary of the War of 1812, a multi-year program that includes everything from TV advertising to upgrading historic sites and striking commemorative coins. Alas, the historic series of battles between the British and the Americans came in near the bottom of the Leger online survey, albeit still far ahead of the monarchy in perceived importance. Partisans keeping score might take solace that old Liberal standards, the policy of official bilingualism and the 1982 patriation of the Constitution, tied with the War of 1812 as a source of pride. All three were deemed somewhat or very important by 61 per cent of respondents. Thirty-six per cent of respondents felt official bilingualism was of little or no importance to their pride in Canada, while 30 per cent were unimpressed with the War of 1812 and 25 per cent shrugged off Canada getting its own constitution. Multiculturalism didn’t fare a whole lot better. The Canadian flag and the passport were sources of pride for 84 per cent of respondents, followed by the national anthem at 78 per cent. The Armed Forces, another key Conservative theme, were deemed a source of collective pride by 76 per cent, just behind “our federal system of governance.” Hockey, incidentally, didn’t fare well at all. Only 48 per cent of respondents said the game imparted an important sense of national pride. The 1972 Summit Series, meanwhile, was even lower at 40 per cent.

^ I have heard many Canadians complain about the broken Universal Health Care System and how you have to wait to see doctors and specialists. Most said it needed to be fixed from the ground-up. As for the Canadians Monarchy that didn't surprise me at all as most Canadians have no idea what the Queen (who is also the Queen of the UK and numerous other countries) or the Canadian Royal Family (which isn't the same as the British Royal Family) actually do in and for Canada. I have no idea why the Canadian Government put so much importance on the anniversary of the War of 1812 - I went to several provinces in Canada this past July and heard it mentioned a lot. I can understand why the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is popular as it cover everyone in Canada - citizens and tourists - while the US Bill of Rights and Constitution don't always cover foreigners. Bilingualism isn't that important to Canadians because most people aren't bilingual. The only official bilingual province is New Brunswick (Quebec is unilingual - French and most of the other provinces are unilingual  - English.) Students may be forced to learn either French or English in school but unless you want to work for the Government then you won't use it after your graduate. I don't understand why the Canadian Passport would be linked with the Maple Leaf Flag in giving pride - I have one and it's nothing special. In fact Passport Canada keeps pushing back the introduction of the e-passport when countries like Russia already have them. I would think the 1982 Constitution patriation would be more popular as it made Canada fully independent from the British in London. I consider Canada to only have achieved full sovereignty 30 years ago since that is when they no longer needed British permission or approval (even if it was a rubber stamp.) The same with Germany - it has only had full sovereignty over its affairs since March 1991 with the signing of the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany.) All in all Canadians have a lot to be proud of. It was interesting to read what people around the country thought was important to being Canadian. ^

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