Prince  George,  B.C.- As the final preparations  are made to mark  Remembrance Day in Prince George  at the new  cenotaph,  a new survey  indicates that across the country, more Canadians plan to attend a service this year than last.

 

The Ipsos Reid  survey examines attitudes toward remembrance among Canadian as well as their personal connection to veterans and the military.

Two in ten (20%) Canadians – some 4.8 million adults – say they will attend an official Remembrance Day service on November 11th. In 2008, 16% of Canadians – some 4 million adults – say they attended an official service on Remembrance Day. Projected attendance this year rises to 26% among those who have a family member who has served in the past, and to 35% among those who now have a family member in the Canadian Forces.

The  survey was condicted for the  Historica-Dominion Institute which  has asked all Canadians - at home, at school, at work - to stop for two minutes at eleven o’clock on November 11 in a nation-wide campaign called “Take Two Minutes to Remember.” More than 1,600 Canadians and organizations have signed up at www.historica-dominion.ca.  On November 5, the House of Commons unanimously adopted a motion urging all Canadians to observe two minutes of silence.

The proposal enjoys widespread support among Canadians. All in all, more than eight in ten (85%) respondents agree (57% strongly/28% somewhat) that they will observe two minutes of silence at 11 o’clock on November 11th. Furthermore, seven in ten (71%) Canadians ‘agree’ (44% strongly/27% somewhat) that ‘governments at the federal, provincial and municipal levels should make it mandatory, not voluntary, for individuals, schools, workplaces and other venues to observe two minutes of silence on each November 11’.
 
“We hope all Canadians – even those who will not be attending a Remembrance Day ceremony – will join us in taking two minutes to remember at 11 a.m. on November 11,” says Andrew Cohen, president of The Historica-Dominion Institute. “This is simple way for all of us to honour the men and women who have served and continue to serve our country.”

The survey also measured Canadians’ direct connection with veterans and the Canadian Forces. A majority (54%) of those polled – which could represent roughly 13 million adult Canadians – say they have a direct relative who has served as a member of the Canadians Forces during a war or a conflict, or as a member of Canada’s uniformed reserves:

•    Over 3 million adult Canadians (14%) have a direct relative who they know served in World War One.
•    Some 10 million adult Canadians (43%) have a direct relative who served in World War Two.
•    Over 3 million adult Canadians (14%) say that they have a member of their family or direct relative who is currently an active-serving member of the Canadian Forces.
•    Approximately 1.7 million adult Canadians (7%) have a direct relative who served or is serving in Afghanistan.