Achi news desk-
Canadians are rallying behind the Edmonton Oilers ahead of the Stanley Cup final, although some more than others, according to a new poll.
The survey, conducted exclusively for Global News by Ipsos, suggests that 57 per cent of Canadians support Connor McDavid’s squad as they prepare to face the Florida Panthers.
That’s compared to just nine per cent backing the Sunshine State team.
Furthermore, 68 percent of those polled, including 72 percent of fans of Canada’s rival teams, said they believe Edmonton is now “Canada’s team.”
Rival fans also support the Oilers to win the cup.
The poll found that 68 percent of rival teams’ fans root for the Oilers, compared to 13 percent for the Panthers.
Those numbers were highest among fans of the Winnipeg Jets (78 percent) and Calgary Flames (74 percent), followed by the Ottawa Senators (72 percent) and Toronto Maple Leafs (71 percent).
Kyle Braid, Ipsos vice-president of public affairs, said there could be a few reasons Canadians want Edmonton to win the cup.
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“There’s a positive spin to it that Canadians are generous and selfless and will put aside their usual loyalties to support another Canadian team,” he said.
“But it’s also possible that Canadians are just sick and tired of hearing about a 30-year drought and they’ll accept whoever wins to get this over with.”
Overall, almost half of Canadians (49 per cent) said they believe Edmonton will actually lift hockey’s most famous trophy. That’s compared to 18 percent who believe the Panthers will win.
“Edmonton may be a Vegas underdog, but Canadians are really optimistic,” Braid added. “By a margin of three to one, Canadians think Edmonton is going to win.”
While the team scored majority support in every state and from fans of every team polled, that support was lower west of the Rockies.
The Oilers eliminated the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of a closely fought series, and it seems some fans aren’t so quick to forgive.
The poll found that 62 percent of Canucks fans will root for the Oilers in the Stanley Cup final, the lowest level of support among Canadian fans. Montreal Canadiens fans came in a close second at 64 percent.
In contrast, nearly a quarter of Canucks fans (23 percent) plan to root for the Florida Panthers, while only 16 percent of Canadiens fans supported the Florida team. The Canucks have a connection with the Panthers in one of the popular former players of the fan Roberto Luongo, who now works in the front office of Florida.
Canucks fans were also the least likely to call Edmonton “Canada’s team,” with 63 percent agreeing with the label.
British Columbians and Quebeckers in general were also the least likely to support the Oilers in their quest for the cup.
Only 46 percent of Quebec respondents and 50 percent of those in BC said they would approve of Edmonton.
The online poll was conducted between June 4 and June 5 among 1,001 adult Canadians with data weighted according to census data. The accuracy of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate within ± 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, if all Canadians aged 18+ had been polled.
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