Two-in-three Canadians view Pope Francis favourably

Two-in-three Canadians view Pope Francis favourably

About as many Britons as Canadians view the Pope favourably, more Americans positive about Francis

February 5, 2015 – From being nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize to participating in Google Hangouts, Pope Francis has earned the favourable opinion of two-thirds (67%) of Canadians. This represents a six-point increase from March of last year (59%).

These findings are the result of an Angus Reid Institute online survey of Canadian adults, and follows a similar study recently conducted by the Pew Research Center gauging opinions of the pope in 43 countries, excluding Canada.

Key Findings:

Just over one-quarter (27%) of Canadians have a “very favourable” opinion of Pope Francis.

Two-in-five (40%) hold a “somewhat favourable” view of the pope.

Catholics (94%), older Canadians (78%), and those living in Ontario and Atlantic Canada (71%) are most positive about Francis. Opinions towards him were least favourable in Alberta (59%), although the majority in that province are indeed positive towards the pope. Just over half (56%) of Canadians aged 18-34 view Francis favourably.

Canadians view Pope Francis slightly more favourably than respondents in the UK (65%) and less favourably than respondents in the US (78%) polled by Pew.

Click here for full report including tables and methodology

Click here for Questionnaire used in this survey

 


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