A new poll suggests that Canadians are largely indifferent to King Charles III, and more than half of respondents think his coronation on May 6 will be a good time for Canada to reconsider its ties with the monarchy.
The online survey of 1,544 adults by the firm Léger states that barely 12% of respondents said it was good news that Charles III was now king, compared to 14% who said it was a bad news and 67% who were indifferent.
Only 13% of those polled said they felt a personal attachment to the monarchy, compared to 81% who did not.
The survey found the level of attachment to the monarchy had plummeted since the days immediately following Queen Elizabeth II’s death last September, when 19% said they felt an attachment and 77% said they did not. to have. Indifference towards Charles also increased during the same period.
A majority of respondents said the time had come for Canada to reconsider its ties to the monarchy, with 56% in favor and 44% against.
Anti-monarchy sentiment was strongest in Quebec, where 71% of survey participants said it was time to reconsider ties.
Indifference to Charles III’s ascension to the throne spread across all age groups and regions of Canada, although the new monarch was viewed most favorably in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. and among Canadians aged 55 and older. Again, the lowest level of positive reviews was in Quebec, where just 7% agreed it was a good thing Charles was king.
The king’s coronation will take place on May 6 at Westminster Abbey and will be marked by a procession, a concert at Windsor Castle and other events.
While 44% of respondents said they were aware of the event, 73% said they weren’t interested in following it. Twenty-seven percent of respondents expressed interest, but only 6% said they were very interested.
Sixty percent of respondents said they weren’t going to watch TV or video coverage, compared to 17% who said they would and 23% who still don’t know.
The survey was conducted between March 10 and 12. A margin of error cannot be assigned to it, as it was conducted online and not randomly, but Leger says the margin of error for comparable random or probability sampling would be 2.49 percentage points, 19 times on 20.