Constitution DayNational Poll Result Highlights

Constitution Day

As Acts of the British Parliament, both the Constitution Act, 1867 and the Canada Act, 1982 (the

Constitution Act, 1982 was a Schedule to the Canada Act) received Royal Assent on the same day in their

respective years, on March 29th. Constitution Day is a celebration that aims to advance awareness and

understanding of our Constitution among Canadians. Like the similar “U.S. Citizenship and Constitution Day”,

the CCF encourages governments and citizens alike to acknowledge and celebrate this day each year.

National Survey

Commissioned by the CCF, between March 9 to 13th, 2012, Abacus Data conducted a national survey examining

public opinion and knowledge of Canada’s Constitution and Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The survey was

conducted online with 1,003 respondents in English and French using an internet survey platform. A random

sample of panelists was invited to participate in the survey from a larger internet representative panel of

150,000 Canadians. Since the online survey was not a random, probability based sample, a margin of error

could not be calculated. The margin of error for a survey of 1,003 respondents using a probability sample is +/-

3.1%, 19 times out of 20.

To learn more, visit:

www. ConstitutionDay .ca

Knowledge about Canada’s original Constitution - Constitution Act, 1867

The Constitution Act, 1867 came into force on July 1, 1867.

Below the percentages of Canadians and high school grads who cannot correctly identify this date.

46% of Canadians and 54% of high school grads answered incorrectly / donʼt know

54%15%

31%

CorrectIncorrect Don’t Know

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Correct Incorrect Don’t Know

40

14

46

31

15

53

Canada High school

Canadians Canadians vs. High School Grads*

We examined the basic knowledge of Canadians and high school graduates on the British North America Act, 1867 (now known as the

Constitution Act, 1867).

* “High School Grads” includes those individuals who obtained no further education beyond high school.

Knowledge about Canada’s original Constitution - Constitution Act, 1867

The Constitution Act, 1867 established the Dominion of Canada by fusing the North American British colonies of the Province of Canada (Ontario and Quebec), the

Province of New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.

Below the percentages of Canadians and high school grads who cannot correctly identify these four provinces.

73% of Canadians and 80% of high school grads answered incorrectly / donʼt know

Canadians Canadians vs. High School Grads*

38%

28%

35%

IncorrectCorrectDon’t Know

0

10

20

30

40

50

Incorrect Correct Don’t Know

44

20

36 35

28

38

Canada High School

* “High School Grads” includes those individuals who obtained no further education beyond high school.

Knowledge about Canada’s original Constitution - Constitution Act, 1867

The Constitution Act, 1867 outlined the powers of the federal and provincial governments under sections 91 and 92 respectively.

Below the percentages of Canadians and high school grads who do not know this simple fact.

61% of Canadians and 68% of high school grads answered incorrectly / donʼt know

Canadians Canadians vs. High School Grads*

39%

7%54%

Yes No Don’t Know

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Yes No Don’t Know

62

6

32

53

7

39

Canada High School

* “High School Grads” includes those individuals who obtained no further education beyond high school.

Knowledge about Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not include explicit protection for private property.

Below the percentages of Canadians and high school grads who know this fact.

9% of Canadians and 7% of high school grads answered correctly

Canadians Canadians vs. High School Grads*

We examined the basic knowledge of Canadians and high school graduates on the Charter of Rights and Freedoms (part of the the

Constitution Act, 1982).

9%

56%

35%

CorrectIncorrect Don’t Know

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Correct Incorrect Don’t Know

40

53

7

35

56

9

Canada High School

* “High School Grads” includes those individuals who obtained no further education beyond high school.

Knowledge about Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Section 33 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms allows the federal and provincial governments to override certain Charter guaranteed right and freedoms.

Below the percentages of Canadians and high school grads who know this fact.

19% of Canadians and 17% of high school grads answered correctly

Canadians Canadians vs. High School Grads*

19%

41%

39%

CorrectIncorrectDon’t Know

0

10

20

30

40

50

Correct Incorrect Don’t Know

45

37

17

3941

19

Canada High School

* “High School Grads” includes those individuals who obtained no further education beyond high school.

Knowledge about Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Section 32 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms states that the Charter only applies to governments (including Crown corporations, and other entities in which

governments play a major role like hospitals, etc.) and not to private individuals, businesses, or other organizations.

Below the percentages of Canadians and high school grads who know this fact.

7% of Canadians and 5% of high school grads answered correctly

Canadians Canadians vs. High School Grads*

7%

57%

36%

CorrectIncorrectDon’t Know

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Correct Incorrect Don’t Know

42

53

5

36

57

7

Canada High School

* “High School Grads” includes those individuals who obtained no further education beyond high school.

Amending the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Breakdown of support for amending the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to include protection for private property among Canadians and across regions in Canada.

56% of Canadians strongly/somewhat support this amendment - Support higher in Western Canada

We examined the attitudes of Canadians on various changes to the Charter of Rights and Freedoms:

(1) adding protection for private property (2) removing s. 33 (“notwithstanding” clause)

(3) whether the Charter should be interpreted to prohibit government from punishing Canadians for non-harmful behaviour.

30%26%

32%

7%

5%

Strongly SupportSomewhat SupportNeutralSomewhat OpposeStrongly Oppose

0

10

20

30

40

Canada Atlantic QU ON Central AB BC

3539

36

30

21

3130

Regional Breakdown by Percentage

Strongly Support

Support Among Canadians for

adding private property

protection to Charter

Amending the Charter of Rights and Freedoms

Breakdown of support among Canadians for amending the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to remove section 33, the “notwithstanding” clause.

36% of Canadians strongly/somewhat support this amendment

15%

21%

32%

20%

11% Strongly SupportSomewhat SupportNeutralSomewhat OpposeStrongly Oppose

Breakdown of support among Canadians for whether section 7 of the Charter should be interpreted to prohibit the government from punishing Canadians for non-harmful

behaviour.

In Malmo-Levine, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected the opportunity it had to interpret section 7 of the Charter to mean that on one should have his or her right to

“life, liberty or security of the person” infringed for non-harmful behaviour.

50% of Canadians strongly support/somewhat support this amendment

20%

30%

28%

14%

7% Strongly SupportSomewhat SupportNeutralSomewhat OpposeStrongly Oppose

Survey Questions Asked

The next set of questions is about Canada’s constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

1. Generally speaking, how familiar or unfamiliar would you say you are with Canada’s constitution?

Very familiar Somewhat familiar Somewhat unfamiliar Very unfamiliar

2. With these next few questions, we are trying to find out what people know about Canada’s constitution. We plan to use these answers to design information campaigns. So, it is important for you to tell us if you DON’T know about the topics that we ask about.

We prefer that you don’t guess at the answers. Actually, we expect there are some topics that you don’t know about.

On what day did Canada’s original constitution come into force?

July 1, 1982 July 1, 1867 July 4, 1776 March 29, 1860 Don’t know

3. The British North America Act,1867 later known as the Constitution Act, 1867 established the Dominion of Canada by fusing which four (4) North American British colonies? Select the three colonies that formed the Dominion of Canada.

Ontario Quebec

New Brunswick Nova Scotia Prince Edward Island Manitoba Newfoundland British Columbia Don’t know

Survey Questions Asked

4. Below are a list of things that may have been included in the Constitution Act, 1867? Please tell us whether the Constitution Act, 1867 provided details for each.

• Detailed the separation of powers between the Executive, the House of Commons, the Senate, and the Judiciary.

• Outlined the rights and freedoms of Canadians protected by the constitution.• Listed the distribution of powers between the federal and provincial governments.• Determined that English and French were the official languages of Canada.• A method for amending the constitution.

5. Now we are going to read a series of statements. After each one, please tell us whether it is true, false, or if you don’t know for sure. Once again, we prefer that you don’t guess at the answers. Actually, we expect there are some topics that you don’t know about.

The Charter of Rights and Freedoms includes the right to pursue one’s own trade or business.

True False Don’t know

The Charter includes the right to use and enjoy private property. True False

Don’t know

While the Charter protects equality of all Canadians, it also allows for certain laws or programs that favour disadvantaged individuals or groups like employment programs for women or visible minorities.

True False Don’t know

Canadians are only protected by rights and freedoms specifically listed in the Charter. True False Don’t know

Survey Questions Asked

The obligation to respect the rights and freedoms set out in the Charter applies to private individuals, businesses and other organizations as well as government. True False Don’t know

The federal government or provincial governments can take away certain rights protected in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. True False Don’t know

6. The Charter of Rights and Freedoms does not include a right to own or use private property. Would you support or oppose a constitutional amendment that would add owning private property as a right protected by the Charter? Strongly support Somewhat support Neither support nor oppose Somewhat oppose Strongly oppose

7. Section 33 of the Charter, the Notwithstanding Clause, can be used by governments to override certain rights and freedoms listed in the Charter. Would you support or oppose a constitutional amendment that would remove the Notwithstanding Clause from the Charter of Rights and Freedoms?

Strongly support Somewhat support Neither support nor oppose Somewhat oppose Strongly oppose

Survey Questions Asked

8. Which of the following statements do you think best represents what it means when the Charter guarantees that everyone has a right to liberty?

• Everyone is free to do what they wish.• Everyone is free to do what they wish so long as no one is harmed.• Everyone is free to do what they wish, but some important decisions should be

made by the government.• The government is free to do what it wishes, and everyone has a degree of

freedom when making important personal decisions.• The government can do what it wishes, and everyone has to do what they are told.

9. Below are a number of statements that the Charter of Rights and Freedoms could do. For each, tell us whether you support or oppose it.

• The Charter should prohibit the government from making laws to punish people for non-harmful behaviour.

• The Charter should give individuals a right to due process (legal rights) when the government takes away their freedom or liberty.

The Canadian Constitution Foundation is a registered charity, independent and non-partisan,which defends the constitutional freedoms of Canadians through education, communication and litigation.

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