Over Half Of Canadians Say The Royal Family Is A ‘Negative Symbol’ For Canada
Following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah, new research has found that some Canadians’ attitudes towards the royal family have shifted.
A series of polls by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies considered the impact of recent events on Canadians’ views on the British monarchy, including whether they sympathized most with Harry and Meghan or the Royal Family.
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A positive or negative symbol?
As part of the research, respondents were asked whether they believed the monarchy currently represented a positive or negative symbol in Canada.
The poll found that 52% of Canadians now consider the royal family to be a “negative symbol” here in Canada, while 48% believe it remains a positive symbol.
The tell-all interview
Canadians were also asked about the impact of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Just over half (52%) of respondents said they believe that “the recent events involving Harry and Meghan speak about a fundamental problem with the institution.”
On the other hand, 35% of people said the interview did not impact the importance of the monarchy overall.
The remaining 13% said they had not heard of the “Harry and Meghan events.”
Team Harry & Meghan
Another poll asked Canadians whether they sympathize most with the ex-royal couple or the working members of the royal family following the tell-all TV interview.
It found that 26% of respondents sympathize more with the royal family, while 59% said they supported Harry and Meghan “given the recent events.”
The remaining 16% say that they were unaware of the recent events relating to the royals.
Racism in the royal family
During the Oprah interview, the couple revealed that there had been “concerns and conversations” about the colour of their child’s skin before he was born.
This prompted a response from Buckingham Palace, in addition to a comment from Prince William, claiming they are “not a racist family.”
However, one Leger poll shows 43% of Canadian respondents think that “recent events show that the Royal Family holds racist views.”
While 26% say “recent events do not show that the Royal Family holds racist views.”
The remaining 31% answered by saying they "don’t know."