In the world of academia, the term “settlers” has become commonplace when discussing people of European descent, however, a new poll found that most Canadians don’t agree with the term.
A survey commissioned by the Association of Canadian Studies revealed a disconnect between academics and the general public
The Leger poll found that 47% of Canadians disagree with the term “settler” as a descriptor and 30% were completely unaware of the term altogether, prompting researchers to note that it’s “reasonably safe to conclude that the 30%…simply don’t understand the notion of settler colonialism.”
President and CEO of the Association of Canadian Studies Jack Jedwab said the term is primarily used by those who perceive Canada’s past and present through a colonial lens.
“They, therefore, define Canadians as either Indigenous or as settler-colonists,” said Jedwab.
The poll ultimately found that fewer than one in four Canadians see themselves as a “settler.”
Jedwab said “that most Canadians reject the ‘us and them’ labelling is indicative of a widening gap between the academy and the public at large. That gap risks undercutting efforts at reconciliation as … it fails to capture the diversity of the Indigenous and non-Indigenous persons.”
Interestingly, the poll found that 41% of Canadians aged 18-34, a cohort most likely to be in academia or to have recently left it, had a negative feeling about being called “colonists.”
Of the next oldest cohort of respondents, those aged 35-54, 47% held that feeling while that number increased to 53% for those 55 and older.
Additionally, 39% of the youngest cohort responded that they “didn’t know” about the “settler” label (or they said it doesn’t apply), while that was true of 29% of those in the 35-54 age group.
Only 25% of respondents 55 and older were unaware of the label.
“Canadians don’t see themselves as colonists, which presumes they originated outside of Canada,” said Jedwab.
Respondents on the left side of the political spectrum were more likely to identify with the settler label, including 47.2% who identified themselves as “left” and another cohort of 32% who said they are “left of centre.”
However, only 17.1% of people who identified as “right” saw themselves that way.
This sentiment shifted among ethnic minorities, with 55% of those respondents rejecting the term settler as an identity.
“Many newcomers to Canada were themselves victims of colonial regimes and are likely to refuse the label being applied to them,”said Jedwab.
The survey also asked respondents about their sense of pride in being Canadian, which was felt the least among young people and the most among seniors.
Only 58% of those 18- to 24 said they were proud of being Canadian, while 73% of those 25-34 expressed pride. Of the cohort aged 35-44, 79% expressed pride and 76% of those aged 45 to 54.
Of those aged 55-64, 85% said they were proud to be Canadian and finally 92% of those aged 65 and older felt that way.
Broken down by region, those with the most Canadian pride resided in Atlantic Canada at 91%, whereas that figure dropped to 80% in Ontario.
Alberta came in at 84%, with Manitoba and Saskatchewan at 77% and B.C. at 74%.
Perhaps most surprisingly, Quebec came in at 81%, with Francophones at 82% and Anglophones at 80%.
Jedwab noted that the survey found little correlation between how people perceived the settler label and whether or not they were proud to be Canadian.
“Ideally there needs to be some reflection from the academy and some policymakers as to why this framing of Canada doesn’t resonate with the majority,” said Jewab.