NATIONAL PULSE – Culture Wars are changing how we talk to each other
By ANGUS REID INSTITUTE
September 11, 2023 – It’s a familiar refrain these days: Canadians are having a harder time talking to each other.
A multitude of factors have contributed to what is a perceived increase in polarization between different groups, generations, and political spheres in this country, and alongside this, an increase in often intense conversations with friends, family, and other Canadians.
Within this environment, the Angus Reid Institute has undertaken a wide-ranging study to better understand the perspectives of Canadians on a host of issues – from gender and identity, to race, Indigenous issues and the legacy of colonization, to free speech and precautions taken to ensure the comfort of those who don’t wish to partake in charged debates. These topics have become flashpoints in what has been labelled as the “culture wars”.
Exploring these contentious grounds can help to answer some questions. Are our conversations really changing? Do we have common interests to build upon? Where do the values of Canadians diverge? Over the coming weeks, this six-part series will endeavour to help this conversation along and provide insight for Canadians to better understand each other.
Throughout these studies, ARI will utilize a segmentation, derived from responses across the spectrum of these at-times controversial issues, which sorts Canadians into five broad groups that describe their relation to the cultural conversation.
On one extreme, the Zealous Activists are those leading the charge to modernize expression in their own view and draw attention to the experiences of marginalized groups. They tend to see the culture wars as an opportunity to educate and inform, and they’re comfortable punishing those who offend.
On the other end of the spectrum are the Defiant Objectors. This group sees these conversations as “unnecessary” and overtly punitive in their aims. They’re permissive in their language, and staunch in their unwillingness to consider change on issues like Indigenous reconciliation, recognizing privilege, and other touchpoints of progressive causes. Others take a more mixed view of these issues, or don’t hold strong views at all.
This first release will focus on Canadians’ views of the culture wars, how we talk to each other, as well as conflict mitigation, censorship, and “cancel culture”. Depending on where they sit on the spectrum of cultural mindsets, Canadians can view these issues as important, informative, exhausting or even unnecessary.
More Key Findings:
- The top descriptions Canadians offer for the culture wars debates are divisive (60%), exhausting (59%), and unnecessary (40%). That said, those with a more progressive persuasion are far more likely to say these are important and informative conversations.
- Half of Canadians (47%) say the language we use in conversations is changing, becoming more carefully chosen, and that this is a good thing. Another 35 per cent agree that this is happening, but feel it is for the worse. This is a key disagreement from one side of the cultural mindset spectrum to the other.
- Half of Canadians say that this trend of public figures being “cancelled” due to controversial public statements is an important way to ensure people are held accountable (48%), while half say this is suppressing free speech (52%).
- Canadians are generally supportive of the idea of “safe spaces” in school settings and “trigger warnings” more broadly, to ensure that people can avoid reliving past stress, anxiety, or trauma. In both cases, a majority say that these are appropriate to undertake, and fewer than two-in-five disagree.
- Three-in-five Canadians (58%) say it is acceptable for universities to ban speakers who promote offensive views regarding race and gender. One-in-three (34%) disagree.
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