Survey suggests young Canadians interested in attending Remembrance Day events

TORONTO – A new poll suggests that Canadians of all generations are more likely to honor veterans by attending a Remembrance Day ceremony this year.

A survey commissioned by Historica Canada, the organization behind the popular Heritage Minutes videos, revealed a 10% increase in the number of respondents who planned to attend a ceremony this year compared to 2017.

The online survey, conducted by Ipsos, revealed that 39% of respondents strongly expected to attend a ceremony on Nov. 11, up from 29% the year before.

The survey revealed that the plans were relatively consistent from one population to the next, with Millennial respondents expressing their most consistent enthusiasm for attending Remembrance Day events. It found that 41% of 18- to 34-year-olds surveyed intended to participate, compared to 40% of respondents over age 55 and 38% of participants aged 35 to 54.

Anthony Wilson-Smith, CEO of Historica, described the Millennium Generation's findings as gratifying, saying the survey results questioned the theory that the generation with the least tangible connection to the two world wars would most likely ignore Remembrance Day

"We are now at the point where we have to think that the day will come when there will be more veterans of the Second World War," Wilson-Smith said during a telephone interview .

"This leaves you wondering if, once everyone is gone, will people still be able to grasp the meaning of the war, the sacrifices, the causes that led people to war and the results?" , did he declare.

"The answer would seem to be yes."

Wilson-Smith assumed that at least part of the growing interest in Remembrance Day ceremonies came from the fact that this year's events would mark the 100th anniversary of the armistice that ended to the First World War after four years of struggle.

But he added that the apparent link of the younger generation to this day could also come from personal ties with those who have served in more recent conflicts, such as the war in Afghanistan, in which 158 Canadian soldiers and two civilians were killed. been killed.

The survey revealed that 95% of those surveyed felt that Remembrance Day ceremonies should honor veterans of recent conflicts. He also revealed that 83% of those surveyed planned to wear a poppy before November 11, with baby boomers showing the greatest enthusiasm for the idea.

The online survey of 1,002 Canadians also identified the number of respondents who visited a cenotaph or other war memorial in their community or elsewhere.

According to the survey, participants from British Columbia were the most likely to have done so, noting that the provincial response rate of 64% was well above the national average of 46%.

The Ipsos survey was conducted between October 25 and 29, Historica said.

The Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, the professional body for the survey industry, says online surveys can not be given a margin of error because they are not a random sample and are not necessarily representative. Population.