Canadians and the CFL-Support and Followers Increasing
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Canadians and the CFL—Support and Followers Increasing
TORONTO, December 2, 2021—Just as this weekend determines which finalists will be
heading to the Grey Cup, a new Maru Public Opinion poll released today finds that any
potential expansion of a National Football League (NFL) team across the border is now
much more conditional among Canadians than it was a quarter-century ago in 1995.
And the CFL is growing in followers from 16% in 1995 to 21% today (+5 percentage
points) and is having a younger audience renaissance—demographic tracking since that
1995 demonstrates a swell of young (aged 18-34) Canadian followers in 2021 for the CFL
(21% up eight percentage points since 1995) only bested by an explosive growth among
the same cohort for the National Basketball Association (NBA)—from 4% in 1995 to 29%
in 2021 (+25 percentage points).
The survey undertaking was directed by renowned Sociologist and University of
Lethbridge trend-tracker Reginald Bibby.
Detailed Findings
As of today, almost half (45%) of Canadians appear to have a stake in the game with just
one in ten (11% which is up 2 percentage points since 1995) who would be happy to see
the NFL come, even if it meant the end of the Canadian Football League (CFL). This is
juxtaposed with more (16% which is up three percentage points since 1995) who don’t
want the NFL to come to Canada and a much larger proportion now since the survey was
first taken in 1995 (18% which is up 7 percentage points since 1995) who say they’d be
happy to see the NFL come to Canada but only if the CFL continued to operate.
All in all, in 1995 just 24% of Canadians had the CFL in their end zone whereas today its
up to 34% (+10 percentage points). That compares to the die hard bring on the NFL
fans in the stands who in 1995 numbered 9% and today are just slightly higher at 11%
(+2 percentage points). The remainder (55% down 12 points since 1995) of Canadians
are ambivalent on the subject, as they don’t care much either way.
Regional and Age Variations
In every region of the country, the predominant sentiment among people with a view on
the topic is that they either don’t want the NFL to come to Canada or would only welcome
the league if the CFL continued to operate. The same holds for age. In no region do more
than about one in ten people indicate they would be happy to see the NFL come to
Canada if it meant the end of the CFL.
Those who either don’t want the NFL to come or would want its arrival to be conditional
on the CFL continuing to operate range from 25% in Quebec and the Atlantic region
through 35% in BC and Ontario to around 50% on the Prairies.
Even in Toronto, the likely destination of such a team, only 12% would want to see the
NFL’s arrival if it meant the folding of the CFL – below the 29% who either don’t want the
NFL to come to Canada (11%) or would welcome the league only if the CFL continued to
operate (18%).
Age-wise, Canadians 55 and older are the most negative about the NFL coming to
Canada. Conversely, adults under 35 are more likely than others to not be opposed to its
arrival. But they are just as likely as others to express the proviso that the CFL would
need to continue in its very existence.
BUENOS AIRES / CHICAGO / EDINBURGH / LONDON / LOS ANGELES / NEW YORK /
SAN FRANCISCO / SOUTHAMPTON / TORONTO / VANCOUVER
1
Attitudes and Aging
The analysis suggests that it’s easy to overlook the fact that, as people age, sports
attitudes – like all attitudes – often change. Young Canadians, for example, can be
expected to be enamored with many things American. But, as they get older, some – at
least – may “outgrow” some of their earlier inclinations. To some extent, the evidence
suggests this may be the case with the fascination about the NFL in Canada.
• In 1995, 23% of Canadians 18-to-34 either didn’t want the NFL to come to
Canada or felt its arrival needed to be conditional on the CFL continuing to
operate. This year – 26 years later – the figure for that cohort, now 44 to 60 has
risen to 35%.
• Similarly, in 1995, among people 35-to-54, those opposed to the NFL’s arrival or
wanting it to be conditional on CFL survival numbered 24%. Today, that figure for
those people, now 61-to-80, is 43%.
Who are the Sports Following Enthusiasts?
The study also tracked how many Canadians are following the major sports leagues.
Between 1990 and 2021, the National Hockey League (NHL) maintained its grip as the
national sport—up two percentage points (+2) during that timeframe (from 36% to
38%). This is followed by the CFL (21% +5), Major League Baseball (MLB 21% -5), the
NFL (20% +8 ), the NBA (15% +11), and Major League Soccer (MLS)—tracked from
2013 to 2021 (11% + 2)
The findings suggest that while the NHL still has a commanding lead among the
national sports audiences (all age groups are similar with 35% for the youngest
Canadians, 38% for those who are middle aged, and 40% for the 55+ crowd), its the
NBA that has grown its share of audience the most in Canada and is dominated by the
youngest group of Canadians (aged 18-34 at 29%). The data also reflects that sports
are primarily followed by men (most often on a 2 to 1 basis per sport).
So, are followers growing or waning for certain types of sports among age groups? The
data tracked since 1990 indicates that those following the NHL have picked up older
fans (40% +6) and so have MLB (26% +2) with the younger and middle-aged cohorts
either stagnant or in decline. For the CFL, while the most followers are older Canadians
(55+ 28% +9), a large increase among younger Canadians is noted (21% +8). NFL
followers have increased in all age groups (averaging +9 percentage points), but it’s
the NBA that has captured the most momentum of followers, especially among young
Canadians (aged 18-34 at 29%) having exploded +25 percentage points since tracking
began in 1990.
-30-
BUENOS AIRES / CHICAGO / EDINBURGH / LONDON / LOS ANGELES / NEW YORK /
SAN FRANCISCO / SOUTHAMPTON / TORONTO / VANCOUVER
2
Charting the Findings
Potential of NFL Team Coming to Canada
Sports Followers in Canada
Canadian Interest in Pro Sports: 1990-2021
“How closely do you follow…”
% Indicating “Very Closely” or “Fairly Closely”
NHLPro CFL NFL MLB NBA MLS
Football 1
2021 38 30 21 20 21 15 11
2016 40 32 24 22 25 12 9
2015 46 34 26 23 22 12 9
2013 462 33 26 21 20 8 95
2005 30 24 20 13 13 7 -
2000 30 20 15 12 17 8 -
1995 38 21 15 13 283 64 -
1990 36 21 16 11 26 4 -
________________________________________________
1 Total
following both leagues and either one or the other.
2Lockout in 2012; ended in January 2013; survey conducted Nov 2013.
3Toronto Blue Jays won the World Series in 1992 and 1993.
4 The NBA came to Toronto and Vancouver in 1995.
5 MLS began play in Toronto in 2007.
Sources: 1990-2005: Reginald W. Bibby, Project Canada Survey Series;
2013, 2015 Bibby-Vision Critical; 2021 Bibby-Maru Public Opinion.
BUENOS AIRES / CHICAGO / EDINBURGH / LONDON / LOS ANGELES / NEW YORK /
SAN FRANCISCO / SOUTHAMPTON / TORONTO / VANCOUVER
3Methodology
These are some of the findings released by Maru Public Opinion from a survey undertaken
November 19-21, 2021, by the panel and data collection experts at Maru/Blue of 1512
randomly selected Canadian adults who are Maru Voice Canada online panelists. For
comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size has an estimated margin of error
(which measures sampling variability) of +/- 2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The results have
been weighted by education, age, gender, and region (and in Quebec, language) to match
the population according to Census data which ensures the sample is representative of the
entire adult population of Canada. Discrepancies in or between totals when compared to
the data tables are due to rounding.
Maru/Blue is rooted in the Maru/HUB technology platform and offers on-demand, high
quality, highly scalable online community samples of deeply engaged, known respondents.
Maru Public Opinion is a channel of the Maru Group and posts all of its polling releases and
accompanying data tables to Maru Public Opinion. Maru Public Opinion does not do any
work for any political party. Excerpts from this release of findings should be properly
attributed, with interpretation subject to clarification or correction.
For more information:
Reginald Bibby can be reached at bibby@uleth.ca
John Wright
Executive Vice President
Maru Public Opinion
Direct Toronto +1.416.919.2101
john.wright@marublue.com
BUENOS AIRES / CHICAGO / EDINBURGH / LONDON / LOS ANGELES / NEW YORK /
SAN FRANCISCO / SOUTHAMPTON / TORONTO / VANCOUVER
4Painting Better Pictures, Faster
www.marugroup.net
www.marugroup.net/polling is the public opinion research channel for Maru Group
BUENOS AIRES / CHICAGO / EDINBURGH / LONDON / LOS ANGELES / NEW YORK /
SAN FRANCISCO / SOUTHAMPTON / TORONTO / VANCOUVER
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