Post on 14-Dec-2015
Searching for Canadian History
Jack Jedwab Association for Canadian Studies April 2010
Themes Identified and Discussed 1. Consuming “Canadiana”2. Searching for “Canadiana” 3. History Lessons
Introduction
In the focus on debates around the sense of belonging and attachment to Canada there has been increasing attention directed at knowledge about the country. Enhancing the population’s knowledge about the country’s history is seen by some as an important means of fostering citizenship. Ideally it would be useful to have some idea of the state of knowledge about the country’s history. It is widely assumed that such knowledge is low owing largely to the results of annual opinion surveys that test Canadians ability to respond to various events in the country’s history. Yet when asked to self-assess their knowledge about the country’s history, we give ourselves relatively high marks. Others assume that specific groups within the population are more ignorant about the nations past (i.e. immigrants and youth).
Consuming Canadian Info
That which follows neither asks Canadians to self-assess their knowledge or respond to questions about the country’s history. Rather the focus is on the extent to which Canadians report reading about Canada’s history and this is compared with other topics of interest. It reveals that the majority of Canadians don’t make “Canadiana” part of their reading. The survey was conducted by the firm Leger Marketing for the Association for Canadian Studies.
3 levels of readership of Canadian history
a) Heavy readers of Canadiana (persons that report having read 5 or more books or magazines in the past two years)-they represent approx 8% of the population. In general the minority of heavier history readers are in the most educated category of the population and indeed the heaviest readership (10 or more books or magazines) is under the age of 35 (4% in that group report 10 or more)
b) Light to Moderate readers of Canadiana (persons who have read between 1 and 4 books or magazines in the past two years)-they represent 38% of the population
c) Non- Readers of Canadiana-Those who have not read anything on the subject in the past 2 years-52%
Things Novel about Canada Novels were by far most read by Canadians
over the past two years. A majority also report having read science and technology, world history and a very slight majority read business and economy. There were important differences in reading choices on the basis of gender. Men were more likely to reads science and technology, Canadian and World History, Politics, Sports and Business and economy while novels were far and away the top choice of women.
Did not read any books or magazines on the following subjects in the past two years.
None Yes
Subject Total Male Female Total Male Female
Canadian History 52% 46% 56% 48 54 44
Canadian Sports 63% 53% 73% 37 47 27
Canadian Politics 53% 45% 61% 47 55 39
Canadian Literature 53% 57% 50% 47 43 50
Canadian Business and Economy
49% 41% 57% 51 59 43
Canadian Immigration and Multiculturalism
70% 69% 71% 30 31 29
Science and Technology
41% 31% 51% 59 69 49
World History 47% 40% 53% 53 60 47
Province’s History 54% 54% 55% 46 46 45
Novels 23% 31% 16% 77 69 84
Men read more than women on Canadian History
Persons over the age of 65 that are most likely to have read something about
Canada Did not read any books or
magazines on the following subjects in the past two years.
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Canadian History 50% 55% 54% 53% 52% 44%
Canadian Sports 54% 56% 63% 66% 66% 72%
Canadian Politics 51% 54% 61% 57% 48% 46%
Canadian Literature 48% 54% 57% 62% 51% 45%
Canadian Business & Economy
50% 56% 50% 47% 45% 49%
Canadian Immigration & Multiculturalism
60% 69% 73% 76% 68% 69%
Science & Technology 30% 36% 43% 40% 44% 51%
World History 48% 45% 49% 47% 48% 46%
Provinces History 48% 57% 56% 59% 53% 51%
Novels 16% 19% 24% 25% 26% 26%
Did not read any books or magazines on the following subjects in the past two years.
Total French English Other
Canadian History 52% 61% 48% 55%
Canadian Sports 63% 60% 64% 70%
Canadian Politics 53% 59% 53% 52%
Canadian Literature 53% 56% 52% 58%
Canadian Business & Economy
49% 56% 47% 51%
Canadian Immigration & Multiculturalism
70% 74% 72% 63%
Science & Technology
41% 44% 39% 46%
World History 47% 53% 45% 52%
Provinces History 54% 48% 56% 61%
Novels 23% 25% 21% 30%
Other Magazines 12% 11% 12% 16%
Anglophones most likely to have read
about Canadian History
Did not read any books or magazines on the following subjects in the past two years.
Total Elem/Sec College University
Canadian History 52% 61% 47% 48%
Canadian Sports 63% 67% 65% 61%
Canadian Politics 53% 66% 53% 43%
Canadian Literature 53% 62% 56% 45%
Canadian Business & Economy
49% 62% 48% 41%
Canadian Immigration & Multiculturalism
70% 80% 71% 62%
Science & Technology 41% 56% 39% 31%
World History 47% 56% 46% 41%
Provinces History 54% 58% 52% 54%
Novels 23% 27% 24% 20%
Other Magazines 12% 18% 13% 7%
Heavier Readers of Canada: The Challenge of Mainstreaming Canadian History In the last two years, read 5
or more books or magazines on the following subjects
Indices of Canadian History Literacy It is widely felt that knowledge of Canada
and notably its history are elements of strong citizenship
But “Canadian historic literacy” is relatively low and the majority of the population do not qualify as literate when it comes to the degree to which they read about the subject
Most heavy readership is likely “required”and not voluntary given the demographics of the heaviest consumers
Is there a history for the elite and another for the masses?
In the last two years, read 5 or more books or magazines on the following subjects?
Total Male Female
Canadian History 8% 11% 7%
Canadian Sports 9% 17% 3%
Canadian Politics 14% 18% 10%
Canadian Literature 14% 14% 14%
Canadian Business and Economy
15% 20% 10%
Canadian Immigration and Multiculturalism
6% 6% 6%
Science and Technology 23% 33% 12%
World History 16% 20% 13%
Province’s History 8% 8% 8%
Novels 52% 44% 59%
Women “heavier” readers of novels, Men
“Business” Science and History
Subject Total 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+
Canadian History 8% 10% 8% 10% 6% 9% 8%
Canadian Sports 9% 12% 15% 10% 8% 6% 6%
Canadian Politics 14% 19% 15% 9% 11% 16% 18%
Canadian Literature 14% 20% 11% 9% 12% 16% 17%
Canadian Business & Economy
15% 13% 11% 16% 15% 16% 18%
Canadian Immigration & Multiculturalism
6% 8% 6% 6% 4% 5% 5%
Science & Technology
23% 33% 29% 24% 21% 18% 13%
World History 16% 21% 21% 15% 13% 16% 12%
Province History 8% 12% 4% 7% 6% 12% 10%
Novels 52% 48% 58% 52% 47% 56% 54%
Canadian History amongst lowest in the 5
or more category
Allophones somewhat more likely to fall into
moderate plus readership of Canadian History Subject Total French English Other
Canadian History 8% 7% 7% 10%
Canadian Sports 9% 12% 9% 6%
Canadian Politics 14% 13% 14% 16%
Canadian Literature 14% 12% 14% 13%
Canadian Business & Economy
15% 12% 16% 14%
Canadian Immigration & Multiculturalism
6% 5% 6% 7%
Science & Technology
23% 22% 23% 23%
World History 16% 11% 18% 20%
Provinces History 8% 13% 7% 7%
Novels 52% 52% 55% 46%
Other Magazines 57% 62% 58% 51%
Total Elem/Sec College University
Canadian History 8% 4% 11% 11%
Canadian Sports 9% 7% 11% 11%
Canadian Politics 14% 8% 13% 21%
Canadian Literature 14% 11% 13% 18%
Canadian Business & Economy
15% 9% 13% 23%
Canadian Immigration & Multiculturalism
6% 4% 6% 9%
Science & Technology 23% 15% 20% 31%
World History 16% 10% 18% 21%
Provinces History 8% 7% 8% 9%
Novels 52% 45% 55% 57%
Other Magazines 57% 48% 57% 65%
Most educated somewhat more likely to fall into the moderate plus
category
Where do you get your information about Canada
Among the following, which is the principal source you
go to when you need information on the following
subjects?
Canadian History
18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-65 65+ Total
Internet 51% 53% 41% 35% 37% 31% 41
Television 11 3 7 11 8 11 9
Radio 1 1 0 1 2 1 1
Books 18% 24% 23% 28% 28% 32% 26
Newspaper 2% 2% 3% 4% 5% 9% 4
I never seek information on this subject
13% 13% 21% 18% 19% 15% 17
Majority under 35 get info on Canadian history from the internet
Canadian Politics 18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-65 65+ Total
Internet 43% 46% 42% 34% 30% 25% 36
Books 2% 3% 2% 2% 4% 5% 3
Newspaper 20% 9% 16% 14% 22% 27% 18
Radio 1% 7% 4% 6% 5% 4% 5
Television 16% 19% 16% 24% 24% 25% 21
I never seek informationon this subject
14% 15% 18% 16% 14% 13% 15
Under 45 less likely to use non-internet sources of accessing info on Canadian
Politics
Canadian History French English Other
Internet 38% 43% 39%
Books 19% 29% 26%
Newspaper 5% 3% 6%
Radio 1% 1% 3%
Television 11% 8% 9%
I never seek information on this subject
25% 14% 16%
Francophones least likely to seek info on Canadian History
Canadian Politics French English Other
Internet 29% 42% 31%
Books 2% 4% 2%
Newspaper 16% 18% 19%
Radio 5% 4% 7%
Television 26% 18% 22%
I never seek information on this subject
13% 13% 17%
Television less popular source for
information amongst anglophones
Internet Books Television Radio Newspaper Never seek info.
Canadian History 41% 26% 9% 1% 4% 17%
Canadian Sports 34% 1% 20% 3% 12% 27%
Canadian Politics 36% 3% 21% 5% 18% 15%
Canadian Literature 29% 29% 3% 1% 6% 28%
Canadian Business and Economy
43% 3% 13% 4% 19% 16%
Canadian Immigration and Multiculturalism
37% 5% 8% 3% 10% 33%
Science and Technology
61% 9% 9% 2% 5% 11%
World History 44% 23% 11% 1% 4% 16%
Province’s History 41% 24% 6% 1% 4% 21%
Canadian Literature partially escapes the net
History Lessons
Moderate readers somewhat more likely to feel official languages good for unity
Parmi les évènements suivants, lequel croyez-vous a été le plus déterminant dans l'histoire du Canada
Au cours des deux dernières années, combien de livres ou de magazines avez-vous lu sur les sujets suivants : / L'histoire
canadienne
English Respondents in Canada 10 ou plus 5-9 1-4 Aucune
La conquête de la Nouvelle-France
11,5% 3,3% 2,2% ,9%
La Guerre de 1812 7,7% 6,6% 3,9% 6,1%
La participation canadienne pendant la Première et la Second
11,5% 13,1% 25,8% 15,8%
La Confédération de 1867 34,6% 34,4% 26,4% 27,9%
Le rapatriement de la Constitution et l'introduction de la C
11,5% 13,1% 12,4% 10,6%
L'introduction du système de santé universel
11,5% 11,5% 14,0% 12,5%
Je ne sais pas / Je préfère ne pas répondre
3,8% 1,6% 3,9% 14,4%
English Respondents Number of Books or Magazines read on Canadian History
10 or more/ou
plus 5-9 1-4
None/Aucune
Canadians are a patriotic people/ Les Canadiens sont des personnes patriotiques
Strongly Agree/Tout à fait d'accord
46,2% 26,7% 28,4% 23,3%
Somewhat Agree/Plutôt d'accord
38,5% 53,3% 55,6% 51,7%
Somewhat Disagree/Plutôt en désaccord
15,4% 11,7% 13,2% 17,0%
Strongly Disagree/Tout à fait en désaccord
8,3% 2,2% 3,5%
Prefer not to respond/Je préfère ne pas répondre
,6% 4,5%
Except Heaviest Readers perception of patriotism little affected by level of readership
English respondents and Number of Books or Magazines read on Canadian History
10 or more/ou
plus 5-9 1-4
None/Aucune
Je suis patriotique à l'égard du Canada
Strongly Agree/Tout à fait d'accord
80,8% 63,9% 64,4% 57,4%
Somewhat Agree/Plutôt d'accord
19,2% 34,4% 29,7% 31,8%
Somewhat Disagree/Plutôt en désaccord
3,9% 2,6%
Strongly Disagree/Tout à fait en désaccord
1,6% 1,4% 2,6%
Prefer not to respond/Je préfère ne pas répondre
,6% 5,6%
Except Heaviest Readers personal patriotism little affected by level of readership
English
In the last two years how many books or mgazines have you read on Canadian History Au cours des deux dernières années, combien de livres ou de
magazines avez-vous lu sur l'histoire canadienne
La Loi sur les langues officielles est bonne pour l'unité canadienne
10 or more/ou plus 5-9 1-4
None/Aucune
10 or more/ou plus
Total
Strongly Agree/Tout à fait d'accord
23,1% 29,5% 16,2% 16,9% 8,3% 17,6%
Somewhat Agree/Plutôt d'accord
53,8% 26,2% 40,2% 32,2% 33,3% 35,7%
Somewhat Disagree/
Plutôt en désaccord
15,4% 18,0% 23,7% 26,1% 33,3% 24,4%
Moderate readers somewhat more likely to feel official languages good for unity
English In the last two years how many books or mgazines have you read on Canadian History Au cours des deux dernières années, combien de livres ou de magazines avez-
vous lu sur l'histoire canadienne
Multiculturalism is good for Canadian Unity /La Loi sur le multiculturalisme est bonne pour l'unité canadienne 10 ou plus 5-9 1-4 Aucune
Je ne sais pas /
Je préfère ne pas répond
re
Total
Strongly Agree/Tout à fait d'accord
40,7% 38,3% 14,8% 11,5% 15,4% 15,6%
Somewhat Agree/Plutôt d'accord
37,0% 18,3% 45,1% 41,6% 46,2% 41,4%
Somewhat Disagree/Plutôt en désaccord
14,8% 25,0% 21,0% 22,1% 15,4% 21,5%
Strongly Disagree Tout à fait en désaccord
3,7% 18,3% 12,3% 13,9% 7,7% 13,2%
No response/Je préfère ne pas répondre
3,7% ,0% 6,7% 10,8% 15,4% 8,3%
Moderate and heavy readers much more likely to feel
that Multiculturalism is good for Canadian Unity
English In the last two years how many books or mgazines have you read on Canadian History Au cours des deux dernières années, combien de livres ou de magazines avez-
vous lu sur l'histoire canadienne
The Charter of Rigths and Freedoms is good for Canadian Unity/La Charte canadienne des droits et libertés contribue à l'unité canadienne est bonne pour l'unité canadienne 10 ou plus 5-9 1-4 Aucune
No Response Je ne sais pas / Je
préfère ne pas
répondre
Total
Strongly Agree/Tout à fait d'accord
38,5% 47,5% 34,5% 30,0% 23,1% 33,1%
Somewhat Agree/Plutôt d'accord
50,0% 35,6% 43,1% 46,0% 46,2% 44,3%
Somewhat Disagree/Plutôt en désaccord
3,8% 13,6% 12,9% 9,4% 7,7% 10,9%
Strongly Disagree Tout à fait en désaccord
7,7% 1,7% 7,8% 6,4% 6,6%
No response/Je préfère ne pas répondre
1,7% 1,7% 8,3% 23,1% 5,1%