The Confederation of Tomorrow surveys are annual studies conducted by an association of the country’s leading public policy and social research organizations: the Environics Institute for Survey Research, the Centre of Excellence on the Canadian Federation, the Canada West Foundation, the Centre D’Analyse Politique – Constitution et Fédéralisme, and the Brian Mulroney Institute of Government. The surveys give voice to Canadians about the major issues shaping the future of the federation and their political communities. The 2022 study consists of a survey of 5,461 adults, conducted online in the provinces between January 18 and February 10; and by telephone in the territories between January 6 and 30. For more information about the survey, contact .
This report was produced and published by Environics Institute | June 2022
Executive Summary
Previous Confederation of Tomorrow surveys have documented a gradual shift in Canadian public opinion toward greater support for the rights of Indigenous Peoples and the process of reconciliation. The 2022 survey updates this information, highlighting how the opinions of both Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous Canadians have continued to evolve, particularly in the wake of the discovery of the graves of hundreds of children on the sites of former Indian residential schools. The 2022 survey shows that Canadians are increasingly likely to describe current relations between Indigenous Peoples and non-Indigenous people in Canada as negative rather than positive. At the same time, the proportion of Canadians who say that governments in Canada have not gone far enough to advance reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples has increased significantly since 2020. Additionally, a majority of Canadians continue to feel that individual Canadians have a role to play in efforts to bring about reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. The proportion holding this view has edged downward slightly since last year, but remains higher than in 2019 and 2020. In other areas, there has been little or no change. Most notably, despite the extensive public discussion that followed the discoveries of unmarked graves of children on the sites of former Indian residential schools, there was no significant change in the proportion of Canadians who say they feel familiar with the history of Indian residential schools in Canada. The fallout from the discovery of these graves also does not appear to have affected views on the prospects for achieving reconciliation: Canadians are neither more optimistic nor more pessimistic today than they were in 2021. Finally, since 2019, the strength of the Indigenous identity has grown somewhat, as more Indigenous Peoples now consider themselves to be Indigenous only or first; this change is more noticeable for those who identify as Métis. A growing proportion of Indigenous Peoples also say that either their Indigenous government, or no government, best represents their interests, while fewer say that any non-Indigenous government (whether the federal government, their provincial or territorial government, or their municipal government) does.
This report was produced by Environics Institute