Ipsos poll suggests Canada more united than in 2019

Updated polling suggests measures of alienation and dissatisfaction have moderated in the country since earlier Ipsos polls in 2019.

New Ipsos polling suggests Canada is more united today than it was seven years ago, despite louder political rhetoric around separatism, particularly in Alberta.

The data, drawn from the same Confederation Stress Test survey that previously examined separatist voting intentions, indicates that several measures that were rated as high have eased since 2019.

“We’ve been tracking this for a while.… National unity in Canada and how people are feeling about Confederation, whether their province is fairly treated,” said Jack Gregory, senior vice-president of Ipsos Public Affairs.

“What we found when we looked at it this year was that some of these measures are actually down in terms of people feeling the country is more divided than ever, that their province isn’t getting its fair share.

Gregory said the findings were somewhat unexpected given current political debates.

“This was a little bit surprising for us because obviously in the current environment, there’s a lot of talk of separatism in Alberta and unhappiness with how the federation is working.”

Ipsos tracking shows that in 2019, six in 10 Canadians said the country was “more divided than ever.”

That figure now sits at 55 per cent, according to new data.