As King Charles III gears up to open Parliament Tuesday, a royal revival is sweeping Canada, with new Ipsos polling showing more Canadians seeing the monarchy as a meaningful part of our national identity — something that helps distinguish us from Americans.
The poll, released Tuesday by Ipsos Public Affairs exclusively for Global News, found that 66 per cent of respondents believe Canada’s relationship with the monarchy is useful because it helps set us apart from our neighbours to the south.
That’s up from 54 per cent in April 2023 — a notable jump in royal favour.
Sixty-five per cent of respondents also said our ties to the monarchy are an important part of Canada’s heritage and play a role in shaping who we are, up from 58 per cent in April 2023.
Two years after King Charles III’s coronation, Canadian attitudes toward the monarchy seem to be warming. Support for cutting ties with the Crown has dropped by 12 points since 2023, while more people now think the King is doing a good job, up five points.
The King’s visit comes at a time when Canada’s sovereignty has been repeatedly threatened by U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said multiple times since his re-election that Canada should be the 51st state.
Parliament was prorogued in January while on winter break, and the previous session ended when the federal election was called.
The start of a new Parliament will include electing the Speaker of the House of Commons and the Speech from the Throne. Normally delivered by the governor general — who is the representative of the monarch — this speech lays out the government’s agenda and priorities.
Though King Charles III is Canada’s head of state and the country remains a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth, his role is mostly ceremonial.
Royals are making a comeback — sort of
In 2023, Ipsos polling found 67 per cent of Canadians believed the King and the Royal Family should have no formal role in Canadian society, seeing them as “celebrities and nothing more.”
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However, the recent Ipsos polling shows that number has dropped to 56 per cent
While 46 per cent of Canadians believe the country should end its formal ties to the British monarchy, this number is the lowest level of anti-monarchist sentiment since 2016, down from 58 per cent two years ago.
That said, Quebecers are still more likely than others to support cutting those ties.
Recognition of the Prince and Princess of Wales’ contributions to sustaining the monarchy’s relevance has also risen to 60 per cent (from 53 per cent in 2023).
Since 2023, some royals have also improved in favourability among Canadians, with King Charles III’s popularity rising from 37 per cent to 41 per cent and Prince William and Catherine increasing to 56 per cent (from 52 per cent) and 51 per cent (from 47 per cent).
Approval ratings for other members of the Royal Family have either stalled or dropped.
Camilla, Queen Consort, saw her favourability decline by one point, as did Prince Harry, while Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, dropped by two points.
Older Canadians continue to show greater support for the Royal Family, highlighting a persistent generational divide.
Despite these gains, the monarchy still faces challenges in achieving widespread support, especially among younger Canadians.
What matters most for Canadians
As Parliament gets ready to open following the April election — which saw the Liberals return with a minority and Prime Minister Mark Carney at the helm — most Canadians seem content with the idea of a Liberal minority government.
But that optimism isn’t shared evenly across the country.
Albertans were the least likely to be satisfied with the election outcome, according to the poll.
Just 41 per cent expressed any level of satisfaction, while 59 per cent said they’d be unhappy with a Liberal minority—37 per cent of them “not at all satisfied.”
That frustration appears to reflect a broader sense of western alienation, echoed by leaders like Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.
In contrast, support for a Liberal minority was much stronger in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, where 58 and 57 per cent of respondents said they were satisfied with the result.
The poll also gave a snapshot of what Canadians want the Liberal government to focus on.
At the top of the list: protecting Canada’s interests (27 per cent), followed closely by affordability and the cost of living (26 per cent).
Another 20 per cent said the economy in general should be the main focus, while 11 per cent pointed to pipelines and other resource infrastructure. Just three per cent listed health care as a top priority.
These priorities varied by province, the poll found.
In Ontario, affordability topped the list, with 29 per cent of respondents saying it should be the government’s main focus. In Quebec, 30 per cent of respondents said protecting Canada’s interests was the top priority. Support for approving pipelines and other resource infrastructure was lower overall at 11 per cent, but jumped to 27 per cent in Alberta.
For the monarchy poll, these are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between May 16 and 18, 2025, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.
For the government priorities poll, these are some of the findings of an exclusive Ipsos Election-Day Poll for Global News conducted on April 28. For this survey, a sample of 10,436 Canadian voters aged 18 years and over was interviewed online via the Ipsos I-Say Panel. Data were weighted to reflect the outcome of the election by region according to Elections Canada results. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is considered accurate to within ±1.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadian voters been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error and measurement error.
— with files from Global News’ Sean Previl and Mercedes Stephenson