The Majority of Canadians do not identify as settler colonists

For most Canadians, whether born here or elsewhere, the Indigenous-Settler Colonist binary/dichotomy doesn’t appear to reflect the way in which Canadians define themselves. This conclusion is reflected in a survey conducted by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies which reveals that some 47% of Canadians disagree when asked whether they were settler colonists in Canada while some 30% didn’t know and 23% agreed. It’s reasonably safe to conclude that the 30% that didn’t respond simply don’t understand the notion of settler colonialism. Ironically the only group that to a significant extent see themselves as ‘settlers’ are Canada’s francophones who often learned about that they colonized parts of the province a term which in French they equate with settling it. But in this case the question formulation in French gave rise to an interpretation that served to reaffirm a view amongst francophones that they were Canada’s first settlers.