Think Canadian

After being through my first "Canada Day" here, I found this interesting article by Colleen Tully (canadianliving.com) with a quiz for the readers to acess how much they are "aligned" with the way most Canadians think nowadays.

I have edited the quiz by providing the questions as they were presented (with multiple answers) and the correct answer right below, showing - in most of them - some recent statistical data to back it up.

The questions were adapted themselves from the book "What Canadians Think" (Doubleday Canada, 2005) by Darrell Bricker and John Wright.

1. Where do most of us want Health Care money spent?
a) more doctors
b) a national homecare program
c) reducing waiting lists for diagnostic services
d) a national pharmacare program

Answer: c) Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Canadians believe that reducing waiting lists for diagnostic services like MRIs and CAT scans should be a top priority for more health care spending.

2. Whom do we trust the most?
a) doctors
b) firefighters
c) pilots
d) pharmacists

Answer: b) 94% of Canadians would put their trust in a firefighter. Pharmacists are close behind at 91%, with doctors at 85% and airline pilots at 81%.


3. What is our favourite thing to do online?
a) instant messaging
b) online banking
c) e-mail
d) do online quizzes about what Canadians think

Answer: c) 93% of everyone plugged into the net use it to send e-mail (what the other seven per cent is doing I'm not sure). The number two thing we do is check the weather (65%). Only half (50%) use instant messaging and 53% use the web for online banking.


4. What percentage of Canadians feel the world is changing too quickly?
a) 80%
b) 30%
c) 40%
d) 55%

Answer: c) 43% of Canadians feel the world is changing too quickly and this is a major cause of stress. Frighteningly, the percentage of Canadians who agree there has been a time when they've been under so much stress that they've wanted to commit suicide is 17.


5. In order of most to least, what would Canadians do if they won $10 million?
a) share it with family
b) pay off debt
c) donate to charity
d) travel

Answer: a - c - d - b: a) 50% would share with family, c) 39% would donate to charity, d) 35% would travel and b) only 23% of us would use it to pay off debt. Only 10% would quit their jobs!

6. In what province are parents most concerned about their kids' education costs?
a) Ontario
b) Atlantic Canada
c) Quebec
d) Saskatchewan/Manitoba

Answer: d) 95% of parents in Saskatchewan and Manitoba are worried about funding their children's education. Atlantic Canada follows at 93%, with Ontario at 86% -- parents in Quebec are the least worried at 74%.

7. What percent of Canadians think barbecue season is "all year long"?
a) 40%
b) 65%
c) 25%
d) 50% -- all the men

Answer: a) 40% of Canadians will tromp through the snow to enjoy a juicy flame-broiled burger, and most of these brave souls hail from Alberta (in fact, 57% of all Albertans will barbecue all year round).

8. What are the top two extra-curricular activities our kids are doing after school?
a) hockey and piano
b) swimming and soccer
c) martial arts and piano
d) swimming and piano

Answer: d) Swimming and piano top the chart with 16% of all Canadian kids enrolled. Soccer is next at 15% with hockey close behind at 13%. Only 6% of kids are doing martial arts after school

9. What concerns us the most in the composition of what we eat?
a) fibre
b) saturated fats
c) vitamins
d) total fat
e) calories

Answer: a) 80% of Canadians look for how much fibre is in their food. Vitamins are close behind at 79%. Counting calories is important to 74%, and 67% look at total fat, while just 63% observe saturated fats.

10. In which province people is more likely to say we are different from the Americans?
a) Quebec
b) Saskatchewan
c) British Columbia
d) Nova Scotia
e) Alberta

Answer: c) British Columbians are most likely to say we are different from the Americans. The
province whose residents are least likely to think so is Alberta.


Apart from all the curiosities, the question that struck me the most about the mindset of the "average Canadian" is number 5.
After being here for not too long, I can look at the answer for that and really believe the majority of people here do think like that.
Well, "that's Canada for you!" ;)