An exclusive new Ipsos Reid - CTV News poll reveals that Pauline Marois’ vision for Quebec-Canada post-separation relations - complete with open borders, shared passports and a common currency – is not shared by many Canadians.
Marois recently asserted that a post-separation Quebec would be able to carry on in a very familiar way, a view shared by many Quebecers, but far fewer Canadians outside of the province.
While 73 percent of Quebecers agree that an independent Quebec would continue to use the loonie, only 37 percent of Canadians outside of Quebec shared that view.
While 56 percent of Quebecers agreed that Quebec could continue to use Canadian passports, whereas only 22 percent in the ROC agreed that with notion.
And while 69 percent of Quebecers agreed that there would be no need for borders between Quebec and Canada, only 42 percent outside of Quebec felt the same, according to the pollsters.
In the event of a Yes win on a future referendum, 69 percent of Quebecers would want a “continuation of some political and economic ties” but only 44 percent in the rest of Canada would want the same cozy relations, according to the CTV exclusive poll.
Post-separation relations
Only 31 percent of Quebec respondents said that a separate Quebec should negotiate an “outright breakup” with Canada, while far more 56 percent of people in the ROC would want a clean break with the former province.
Just 24 percent of Canadians outside of Quebec believe that a 50-percent-plus-one majority should be sufficient to allow Quebec to separate. Overall, 76 percent of Canadians believe that separation should require a least a 60 percent majority in a referendum.
However Canadians aren't exactly panicking about the national unity issue, indeed only 19 percent of Canadians outside of Quebec answered that the future of Canada is now threatened by national unity issues, while 31 percent said that Canada is as strong as it ever was.
In Quebec, 36 percent of respondents agreed that Canadian national unity is in trouble.
When it comes to attachment to the Maple Leaf, 87 percent of Canadians responded that they feel “profoundly attached to Canada” while 68 percent of Quebecers responded that they felt that way.
About one quarter (26 percent) of Canadians outside of Quebec said that they are “very concerned” by separation while 36 percent replied that they “couldn’t care less” if Quebec separates.
Feeling that one’s province isn’t getting a fair deal is not an exclusive sentiment to Quebec, as 59 percent of Canadians felt that their province “does not get its fair share from confederation.” Indeed 69 percent of respondents in Saskatchewan and Manitoba agreed with that notion while only 63 percent of Quebecers subscribed to that view.
The online poll of 1,032 Canadians, conducted between March 14 and 19, is considered accurate to within 3.5 percentage points.
