An Angus Reid survey reveals that 42 per cent of Canadians believe Quebec is better treated by the federal government than all other provinces, essentially receiving more than it gives. The only provinces that felt otherwise were Ontario and Quebec.
The poll was conducted just before a three-day first ministers’ meeting began on Monday and aims to calculate what is referred to as a “net alienation score.”
The survey revealed that Quebec has a net alienation score of minus-12 per cent, compared to Saskatchewan’s net alienation score of minus-55 per cent.
A total of 23 per cent of Canadians also believe Alberta is getting a bad deal.
Quebecers the ‘least aggrieved’ within Canadian federation
Even though Quebec is the only province with an active sovereigntist movement, the poll found the province with the least aggrieved population in the country.
Quebecers were least likely of all the provinces in the federation to believe that Ottawa is hurting their province’s economy, and that the federal government is treating Quebec fairly.
However, despite the province’s overall satisfaction being better than other provinces, the Angus Reid survey also shows that only 26 per cent of Quebec respondents said their province is respected, with Saskatchewan trailing at 22 per cent.
Quebec is also the province where a majority of voters are now largely dissatisfied with the provincial status quo. 40 per cent of Quebecers said they were satisfied with the current provincial government, noticeably down from 55 per cent in 2019.
With 63 per cent expressing dissatisfaction, Quebecers were the least dissatisfied with the status quo in Canada. Saskatchewan at 72 per cent was the province most likely to think the federal government was negatively affecting their provincial economy.