Canadians think there is not enough pride in the country’s military

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A large majority of Canadians will be observing Remembrance Day this year, most by wearing a poppy, but Quebecers tend to be less likely to observe the national day of remembrance than Canadians in other provinces, says a new poll.

The Postmedia-Leger poll looked at Canadians’ pride in the military, treatment of veterans and Remembrance Day.

Sixty-two per cent of poll respondents said the Canadian government does not take enough pride in the country’s military. This is a majority view across the entire country, although slightly more British Columbians, at 63 per cent, hold this view and slightly fewer Atlantic Canadians, at 56 per cent, hold that view.

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Those over the age of 55 held that view most strongly, with 70 per cent saying the government didn’t take enough pride in the military.

Andrew Enns, Leger’s executive vice-president in Central Canada said he thinks this is partly due to a “nostalgic view” older Canadians have of the Canadian military, recalling times when Canada was more involved in military operations and peacekeeping missions.

“There’s this strong connection already of the current armed forces and what they’re doing today, but they connect that to what they have done in the past and those sacrifices,” Enns said. “And they feel that the government is really not doing enough.”

Enns also suggested that younger generations may be more likely to have stronger opposition to military, war and conflict. He said this may contribute to why among those aged 18 to 34, only a slim majority — 51 per cent — said Canada didn’t take enough pride in its military.

A majority of Canadians — 53 per cent — also said that Canada does not do enough to support its veterans. Just 23 per cent agree that Canada is doing enough, and a tiny percentage, three per cent, say Canada does too much.

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There are between 2,400 and 10,000 Canadian veterans experiencing homelessness, and are two-to-three times more likely to be homeless than the rest of the Canadian population.

The polling also found large differences between Conservative and Liberal voters.

Seventy-six per cent of Conservatives said the government doesn’t take enough pride in the country’s military, compared to 43 per cent of Liberals. Similarly, 65 per cent of Conservatives said the government does not do enough to support veterans, compared to 44 per cent of Liberals.

“The Conservative party has a somewhat historical (and) closer relationship with things military,” Enns said. “Conservative parties tend to be a bit more deferential to traditions, which lends well to things like Remembrance Day.”

A majority, 60 per cent, said that Canadians themselves don’t take enough pride in their country’s military.

In terms of plans to observe Remembrance Day, 58 per cent of respondents said they will be wearing a poppy and 45 per cent of respondents said they will be observing two minutes of silence.

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Twenty-four per cent of respondents said they will watch an event on TV, which is twice the amount that said they will attend an event in person.

Six per cent said they plan to speak to a veteran. The age demographic that selected this option the most were those aged 18 to 34. Enns said this could be because some schools try to bring veterans into the classroom, giving students the opportunity to speak with them.

Seventeen per cent of poll respondents said they would not be doing anything to observe Remembrance Day. But in Quebec, 40 per cent say they won’t observe Remembrance Day, more than triple the number from any other province.

“It doesn’t have the same significance to Quebecers that it does for those of us in the rest of Canada,” said Enns.

The First and Second World Wars, Enns said, are felt by many to be the main commemorations on Remembrance Day, wars that saw Canada coming to the aid of Great Britain. Quebec, formerly a French colony, has weaker ties to Britain than the rest of the country, Enns said.

Quebec, as well, strongly opposed conscription during the Second World War.

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“So it’s been kind of an antagonistic relationship with the Canadian Armed Forces in Quebec,” Enns said.

Atlantic Canada had the second-highest percentage of people not observing, with 13 per cent saying they will not be doing anything. Twelve per cent of Ontarians say they won’t be observing Remembrance Day, while other provinces were in the single digits: Manitoba and Saskatchewan at seven per cent, Alberta at nine per cent and British Columbia also at seven per cent.

Saskatchewan, Alberta and B.C. have Remembrance Day as a statutory holiday. Enns said because people are not going to work, they are more likely to have time to do something, like attend an event.

He also said this is probably why those aged 35 to 54 are most likely to not observe Remembrance Day.

“The majority of this sample … are probably going to work like any other day,” Enns said.

The online survey was conducted between Nov. 1 and 3, 2024. There were 1,549 respondents, 18 years-old and older, randomly selected by LEO’s online panel. Results were weighted according to age, gender, mother tongue, region, education and presence of children in the household. This survey has a margin of error of ± 2.49 per cent, 19 times out of 20.

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