Why some Canadians see King Charles as a ‘placeholder’ with coronation nearing

With the first coronation of a British monarch in 70 years set for Saturday, Canadians aren’t exactly filled with excitement, a new survey suggests.

In fact, King Charles III, who ascended to the throne following the Sept. 8 death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, hasn’t won over the hearts of many Canadians during his short reign, an Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News indicates.

“Charles (has) … always been a difficult person for Canadians to assess because I think they want to like him, but certain things have held them back,” said Sean Simpson, senior vice president at Ipsos Public Affairs Canada.

“He’s sort of seen a little bit as a placeholder because Canadians do like the current Prince of Wales, Prince William.”

Ipsos, which surveyed 1,000 Canadians ages 18 and older between April 19-20, found that the monarchy as a whole has dipped in favourability since the queen’s death.

When compared to data compiled in September, 74-year-old King Charles’ approval rating sank by seven points to 37 per cent, while Queen Consort Camilla’s dropped one point to 26 per cent.

William and Kate, whose approval rating sits at 52 and 47 per cent respectively, dipped 14 points when compared with last September. William is the only monarchy member to hold a positive majority of those favourable among Canadians six months after Charles ascended to the throne. The Prince and Princess of Wales’ favourability is highest among the university-educated, Ipsos found.

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As for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Harry and Megan, both have dropped in approval since the queen’s death. Down nine points, 47 per cent view Harry favourably, which is also the case for Meghan, who is down six points at 44 per cent.

“If the monarchy can get through Charles, it’s probably in a better shape from a public opinion standpoint under presumably what would be king William,” Simpson said.

King Charles’ low approval ratings appear to be a factor when it comes to Canadians’ interest in his coronation May 6, the poll shows.

Twenty-eight per cent of Canadians said they will watch the ceremony, with interest higher among those aged 55 or older. The same proportion said they will either listen to or read news about it.

Seventeen per cent say they will probably talk about it with friends or family, while 11 per cent were likely to read up on the history of the monarchy. Seven per cent said they will post on social media about the event, which is higher among those aged 18 to 34.

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Only six per cent said they will buy a commemorative souvenir, while three per cent would hold a party to celebrate the ceremony; three per cent said they would travel to London to see it.

At the end of the day, 45 per cent said they won’t be paying attention, and aren’t likely to do any of the above. That sentiment was higher among Quebec residents, with 59 per cent indicating such — 14 points higher when compared to the national average.

“We’re seeing anti-monarchist sentiment increasing at 53 per cent favouring to sever ties,” Simpson said.

“That’s likely not yet a critical mass in Canada, particularly because Quebecers are far more likely than those in English Canada to say that they would support abolishing ties to the monarchy.”

Canadians’ appreciation of the monarchy’s role and relevance has also faded since the queen’s death, the poll suggests.

Sixty per cent of Canadians feel Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should hold a referendum on its future in Canada; 58 per cent feel Canada is not truly an independent nation with ties to the Crown and 61 per cent feel the monarchy’s history with colonialism and slavery doesn’t have a place within Canadian society.

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“Constitutional change in this country requires a pretty high threshold of support, and we’re not there yet,” Simpson said.

“But if the trend continues, if King Charles and the Prince of Wales and family can’t turn the tide around, there’s a potential that maybe … we will have reached that critical mass.”

Simpson noted that Ipsos, which has logged data from multiple polls on the monarchy stretching over 20 years, found Queen Elizabeth II enjoyed consistent support since 2002, being viewed favourably by more than 80 per cent of Canadians.

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Sentiment swayed from time to time, most notably after Princess Diana’s death in 1997, but roughly remained positive when compared to now, he noted.

Regardless, King Charles’ reign will likely be defined by change, Simpson added.

“Queen Elizabeth II was a staunch supporter of tradition, and many things she didn’t want to change or when she did change, it was reluctantly done. King Charles III has already signalled that he’s going to change. He’s more active in some areas, like the environment,” he said.

“His reign, obviously given his age, will be more limited in duration, so I don’t think aside from an attempt to modernize (that) we’re going to see a lot of things that are radically different — more of a placeholder until such time as the current Prince of Wales … takes over and has a longer reign.”

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between April 19 and 20, 2023, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,000 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed. 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 ± 3.5 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.