Younger Canadians are more likely to feel the name is unacceptable than their older counterparts.
Vancouver, BC [October 23, 2019] – Most Canadians see no problem with the current name of the Canadian Football League (CFL) franchise that plays in Edmonton, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 60% of Canadians say they believe the name of the Edmonton Eskimos is acceptable, while 23% consider it unacceptable.
The same proportion of Canadians (60%) think the name of the Chilliwack Chiefs of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is acceptable.
In 2017, 57% of Canadians thought the franchise name of the Edmonton Eskimos was acceptable and 21% found it unacceptable.
“There is a pronounced generational gap when Canadians are asked about the current name of Edmonton’s CFL franchise,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “While 67% of Canadians aged 55 and over see no problem with the name, the proportion drops to 60% among those aged 35-to-54 and 49% among those aged 18-to-34.”
More than three-in-five Canadians believe the names of three other North American professional sports franchises are acceptable: the Atlanta Braves of Major League Baseball (MLB) (66%), the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) (65%) and the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL) (62%).
A majority of respondents also regard the MLB’s Cleveland Indians (57%) and the NFL’s Washington Redskins (54%) as acceptable names for a professional sports franchise.
The highest level of rejection for a franchise name is observed for the Washington Redskins, with 29% of Canadians saying the moniker is unacceptable—a proportion that rises to 38% among respondents aged 18-to-34.
Photo Credit: tewarianuj
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from September 24 to September 26, 2019, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our full data set here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca