Majority say it's time to raise flag again: poll
`Appropriate' to be lowered after graves discovery
Nearly two-thirds of Canadians believe that the flag, which has been flying at half-mast since late May, should be brought back up, according to new polling from Maru Public Opinion.
“The majority of people in every part of this country and in every demographic says that it's time to move on,” said pollster John Wright.
In the wake of the discovery of roughly 200 unmarked graves at the former Kamloops Indian Residential School in British Columbia, flags at all federal buildings, including Parliament and embassies, have been flying at half-mast.
The gesture, part of a wave of national mourning following the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at residential school sites across the country, has recently become a political flashpoint.
In late August, as the federal election campaign was getting underway, Erin O'toole, the Conservative leader, said Canada “should be proud to put our flag back up.” At the English-language leaders' debate, and in the days since, O'toole has argued that the flags should be returned to full-mast on Sept. 30, the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation.
“We will then raise our flag as a sign of that commitment of building a strong and better Canada in the future,” O'toole told reporters. “I've said I'm very proud of our country despite the scars from our past. As prime minister, reconciliation will be core to our government.”
Justin Trudeau, the leader of the Liberal Party, said it's up to Indigenous Peoples to decide when the flags are returned to full-mast, though it is unclear who, precisely, would be the group making that call.
“I plan to keep those flags at half-mast until it is clear that Indigenous Peoples are happy to raise them again,” Trudeau has said.
A large majority of Canadians, 78 per cent, believe lowering the flag was the “appropriate response” to the discovery of the graves, the poll says. It was a more popular view among women — 85 per cent supported it compared to 71 per cent of men.
“Women and young people were the most likely to be impacted by this, which shows right now that they're still the most likely to say that we should keep the flag up,” said Wright.
Those most likely to approve of the initial flaglowering were in Manitoba/ Saskatchewan and Atlantic Canada, at 84 per cent, followed by 78 per cent in Ontario, British Columbia and Quebec, and 71 per cent in Alberta.
However, only 41 per cent believe the flags should still be at half-mast three-anda-half months later. Those most likely to approve of it still being lowered are those in Quebec, at 45 per cent, followed by Ontario, at 43 per cent, Manitoba and Saskatchewan at 42 per cent, B.C. at 39 per cent, Atlantic Canada at 34 per cent and Alberta at 33 per cent.
Forty-seven per cent of Canadian women believe it should still be at half mast, compared to 35 per cent of men.
Sixty-three per cent of Canadians say the flags should be raised on Oct. 1, compared to 37 per cent who believe the flags should remain lowered until an agreement is reached.
The view that the flag should be raised is most popular in Alberta, at 71 per cent, and lowest in B.C., at 55 per cent, with Ontario at 62 per cent, Atlantic Canada at 63 per cent, Quebec at 56 per cent, and Manitoba and Saskatchewan at 69 per cent.
Since late May, there have been six times that the flags would normally be lowered.
They include the death of Bill Davis, the former premier of Ontario, the June 6 attack on Muslims in London, Ont., that killed four people, and a national memorial day for firefighters.
The poll surveyed 1,514 Canadians on Sept. 13 and 14 who are Maru Canada Voice panellists, and has a margin of error of +/- 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.