Canadians split on Don Cherry's Order of Canada nomination — those who know who he is, that is
A new Leger poll has uncovered a three-way split among Canadians on the question of whether hockey commentator Don Cherry deserves the Order of Canada: Those who think he does, those who think he doesn’t, and those who have never heard of him.
The latest poll is titled Federal Government Satisfaction: Survey of Canadians, and asks about voting intentions, government performance and use of the notwithstanding clause, among other topics. But tucked away in its pages is this query: “There is currently a petition to have Don Cherry named to the Order of Canada. Do you feel Don Cherry should receive the Order of Canada?”
Overall, Canadians are almost evenly split between yes (30 per cent) and no (29 per cent). But in addition to the 27 per cent who said they don’t know, there’s a further 14 per cent who chose “Never heard of Don Cherry” as their answer.
Andrew Enns, executive vice-president of Leger’s Central Canada operations, told National Post that the Cherry question was something of a novelty.
“I don’t recall us ever sort of testing the waters on any other personalities getting the Order of Canada,” he said. “So I don’t really have a benchmark here.”
Cherry, 92, was named to the Order of Ontario in February and received a congratulatory visit from Doug Ford, the province’s premier. Then in March, Andrew Lawton, Conservative MP for Elgin–St. Thomas–London South, said he was nominating Cherry for the Order of Canada as well.
Lawton’s announcement received support from Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre who wrote on X: “Don Cherry embodies what it means to be a proud Canadian.” He added: “Great work getting this going Andrew, and count me in.”
The suggestion received immediate political backlash due to Cherry’s previous comments about immigrants and French-speaking Quebecers. He was fired in 2019 from Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canada broadcast after suggesting immigrants are reluctant to buy poppies and support Canada’s veterans.
Indeed, the poll found that Quebecers were least likely to think Cherry deserved the honour , with just 10 per cent in favour and 40 per cent against. Every other province had 32 per cent or more in favour.
The political divide was also apparent. Among Liberals, 40 per cent were against the Order of Canada appointment while 26 per cent approved. For Conservatives, the split went the other way, with 47 per cent in favour and 14 against. And Bloc Québécois voters were even more united in their views, with a full half against and only seven per cent in favour.
BQ voters also polled highest in the “never heard of him” category, at 26 per cent. The only demographic with less awareness of Cherry was 18-to-34-year-olds, where 30 per cent didn’t know who he was. This dropped to 12 per cent among 35-to-54-year-olds, and just six per cent among their elders.
“There was a point in time where Don Cherry … probably had a much higher awareness level,” Enns said.
Whether these numbers would hurt Cherry’s chances of being invested in the Order, Enns couldn’t say. “I don’t know if the Governor General or the prime minister’s office actually do any polling on candidates to test the waters,” he said. “But it would strike me that, when you look at these results, it’s probably not the type of nominee that you’d necessarily want to put forward. It might garner some negativity.”
The poll reached out to 1,521 adult Canadians between April 24 and April 26. A probability sample of this size yields a margin of error no greater than plus or minus 2.51 per cent, 19 times out of 20.
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