Public Opinion in Metropolitan Canada

This report examines public opinion on a range of issues in Canada’s four largest metropolitan areas – Montreal, Toronto, Calgary-Edmonton (combined) and Vancouver – areas that together hold 43 percent of the country’s total population. It assesses the extent to which there is a common big-city mindset or agenda that differentiates those living in these major urban areas from the rest of the country.

By and large, the results show that this is not the case: the four major urban areas of Canada are neither consistently similar to one another, nor consistently different from the non-metropolitan areas that surround them. A major reason for this is the impact of regional and local economic conditions. In particular, residents of Calgary-Edmonton stand out from those in other big cities as being more concerned about the economy and jobs, and less satisfied with the direction of the country; this dissatisfaction is shared by both residents of Calgary-Edmonton and other Albertans.

Another factor is that there is simply more agreement across the country on some issues than is often assumed, particularly on those related to the country’s growing diversity. Finally, on certain questions, distinctive provincial political cultures, especially in Quebec and Alberta, appear to shape the views of those living both inside and outside each province’s largest cities, overriding any urban-rural differences.

The 2019 Confederation of Tomorrow survey of Canadians was conducted by the Environics Institute for Survey Research, in partnership with five leading public policy organizations across the country: the Canada West Foundation, the Mowat Centre, the Centre D’Analyse Politique – Constitution et Fédéralisme, the Institute for Research on Public Policy, and the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government at Saint Francis Xavier University. The research consisted of a national public opinion survey conducted online (in the provinces) and by telephone (in the territories) with a representative sample of 5,732 Canadians (ages 18 and over) between December 14, 2018 and January 16, 2019.