Half of Canadians Expect to Remain a Monarchy in Twenty Years

Queen Elizabeth holds the highest favourability rating in the Royal Family, while Prince Charles remains below the 50% threshold.

Vancouver, BC [March 11, 2020] – While indifference towards the monarchy has increased in Canada, most Canadians believe the country will maintain the current system of government for the next two decades, a new Research Co. poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative national sample, 52% of Canadians believe Canada will “definitely” or “probably” be a monarchy twenty years from now, while 27% expect to have an elected head of state by then.

Almost seven-in-ten Canadians (69%, down two points since a similar Research Co. survey conducted in 2019) have a favourable opinion of Queen Elizabeth II. The rating is slightly lower for Prince Harry (64%, -6) and Prince William (63%, -8).

More than half of Canadians hold favourable views of Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (64%, -4), and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (56%, -4).

The rating is lower for Prince Philip (48%, -6), Prince Charles (44%, +1) and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (32%, unchanged).

Across the country, 32% of Canadians (down one point since 2019) would prefer for Canada to have an elected head of state, while 27% (down four points) would rather keep the monarchy. The proportion of Canadians who say they do not care either way increased by eight points to 28%.

“The level of support for the continuation of the monarchy in Canada is lowest among women (23%) and among those who voted for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in last year’s federal election (20%),” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “On a regional basis, more than two-in-five Quebecers (41%) would like to have an elected head of state.”

More than a third of Canadians (35, -6%) would prefer to see Prince William as monarch after Queen Elizabeth II dies or abdicates, while 25% (+5) would rather have Prince Charles ascend the throne.

Men are evenly divided when assessing the next monarch (29% for Prince Charles and 29% for Prince William). Women prefer Prince William over Prince Charles by a 2-to-1 margin (41% to 21%).

Methodology:

Results are based on an online study conducted from February 22 to February 25, 2020, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.

Find our full dataset here and download the press release here.

Photo Credit: Michal Klajban

For more information on this poll, please contact:

Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca