No new fondness after vote, poll finds

Despite disinterest in Values Charter, stats remain level

Despite theories that the election of a Liberal government signalled a new fondness of Quebecers for Canada, a Léger poll shows the rate of attachment to Canada has been fairly stable for 10 years, Philip Authier reports. The same poll shows a majority of Quebecers feel it’s time to put an end to the debate over the charter of values.

Even if Quebecers elected a federalist government in April, it doesn’t mean francophones feel any more attachment to Canada, a new poll says.

The same poll shows a majority of Quebecers — 58 per cent — feel it’s time to put an end to the debate about the charter of values.

Despite theories the election of Philippe Couillard’s Liberal government April 7 signalled a new fondness by Quebecers for Canada, the poll shows the rate of attachment to Canada has remained fairly stable for 10 years.

About two-thirds of Quebecers (65 per cent) remain strongly or somewhat attached to Canada, the Léger poll done for the Association for Canadian Studies indicates.

Broken down along language lines, 58 per cent of the province’s francophones feel an attachment, compared with 91 per cent for nonfrancophones.

“It’s not a constant downward slope,” said Jack Jedwab, the association’s executive vice-president, noting the 65 per cent level is close to the level of 2006, which was 70 per cent. “It’s stable.” Appearing to back up other polls showing support for sovereignty is currently lowest among Quebec youth, the gap of affection between Quebec and Canada is narrowest among youth.

In the 18-24 age category, 65 per cent say they are strongly and somewhat attached to Canada, compared with 79 per cent who say they are attached to Quebec.

But while the poll shows francophone Quebecers have a greater attachment to Quebec than Canada, they don’t feel they have to choose between them.

According to the poll, 64 per cent of francophones agree with the statement they don’t feel they have to choose between being a Quebecer and a Canadian.

In the non-francophone category, 75 per cent agree with that statement.

Jedwab said the results show non-francophones have bought into the theory of multiculturalism more than francophones.

“In multiculturalism, you don’t have to choose between various aspects of your identity,” Jedwab said. “Francophones are not as multicultural oriented in that regard.

“They do tend to think that inevitably you must choose between your identities, but they don’t think that applies to the choice between Quebec and Canada.”

The poll, however, gives conflicting messages about where Quebec should turn now that the Parti Québécois government failed to push through its proposed and controversial charter of values.

Despite the nationalist line there is a thirst among Quebecers for such a charter to define majority-minority relations, 58 per cent say enough and it’s time to drop the idea, compared with 34 per cent who think it should continue.

The number opposed is highest among non-francophones, where 71 per cent say no more debate.

Among francophones alone, 54 per cent want another round of debate.

The Couillard government is preparing a more watered down version of the charter, with plans to table it in the National Assembly this fall.

The poll was conducted from June 17-19. The margin of error for such a poll is 2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.