Большинство канадцев поддерживает эволюцию, тогда как американцы остаются поделенными

Canseco: A majority of Canadians support evolution, while Americans remain divided, poll finds Evolution of our thinking While more than a century has gone by since the Scopes trial in Tennessee brought international attention to the teaching of evolution and creationism, the issue still generates plenty of debate in Canada and the United States. This year, Canadians continue to side with evolution over creationism by a 3-to-1 margin. Across the country, 62 per cent of Canadians say human beings evolved from less advanced life forms over millions of years, while 20 per cent believe God created human beings in their present form within the last 10,000 years. In 11 years of tracking, only once did we see more than one in four Canadians expressing faith in creationism (26 per cent in 2021). This year’s results represent the second-lowest proportion of Canadians who think God created humans, slightly higher than the 18 per cent recorded in 2022. More than three in five Canadians have expressed confidence in evolution for six consecutive years. It is also important to note that those who are convinced about evolution (35 per cent) substantially outnumber those who abide by creationism (14 per cent). We asked the same two questions in the U.S., and the results are significantly different. Just under half of Americans (47 per cent) select evolution on the question regarding the origin and development of human beings on earth, while almost two in five (39 per cent) choose divine creation. Put differently, the gap between evolution and creationism stands at 42 points in Canada, but at just eight points in the U.S. Also, Americans are slightly more likely to believe in creationism (29 per cent) than to endorse evolution (27 per cent). Political allegiance helps explain some of these discrepancies. More than seven in 10 Canadians who in 2025 voted for the Liberal party (72 per cent) or the New Democratic Party (NDP) (79 per cent) are evolutionists. The proportion of Democratic party supporters in the U.S. who share this view represents a majority (57 per cent) but way short of what is observed with Liberals and New Democrats in Canada. Just over half of Conservative party voters in the last Canadian federal election (53 per cent) side with evolution. The proportions are lower among Independents (47 per cent) and Republicans (39 per cent) in the U.S. The views of Canadians on whether creationism—the belief that the universe and life originated from specific acts of divine creation—should be part of the school curriculum in their province have gone through significant shifts over the years. This year finds a statistical tie, with 42 per cent of Canadians (down six points since 2025) welcoming a discussion about creationism in the classroom and 41 per cent (up six points) saying school is not the place for this topic. In the U.S., more than half of respondents (51 per cent) think creationism should be part of the school curriculum in their state, while about a third (32 per cent) disagree. The differences between regions are not particularly noteworthy on this question. Similar proportions of Americans who reside in the northwest (53 per cent), South (51 per cent), Midwest (49 per cent) and West (48 per cent) regard creationism as a topic worthy of their state’s school curriculum. In Canada, the highest proportion of supporters of creationism in the classroom reside in Saskatchewan and Manitoba (47 per cent), followed by Ontario (43 per cent), Alberta (42 per cent), Quebec (41 per cent), B.C. (40 per cent) and Atlantic Canada (37 per cent). We are more likely to find divergences on the teaching of creationism by looking at the age of respondents across the two North American countries. Just under half of Americans aged 35 to 54 (46 per cent) agree with the teaching of creationism—along with the same proportion of Canadian counterparts aged 18 to 34 (also 46 per cent) and aged 35 to 54 (also 46 per cent). The outliers are the youngest and oldest Americans. We find majorities of respondents in the U.S. aged 18 to 34 (52 per cent) and aged 55 and over (55 per cent) who agree with discussing creationism in schools. This is a significant contrast with the views of Canadians aged 55 and over: only 34 per cent of them say this is the correct course of action for their province’s school curriculum. Over the past few years, there has been stability in the way Canadians perceive evolution and creationism, which is different from the views espoused by Americans. On the complex issue of schools, middle-aged respondents across both sides of the 49th parallel share the same skepticism, but their opinion is overshadowed by younger and older Americans who are eager to converse about creationism in the classroom, and older Canadians who decidedly do not. Mario Canseco is president of Research Co. Results are based on an online survey conducted from June 4-6, 2026, among 1,001 adults in Canada and 1,012 adults in the United States. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in each country. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, for each country. This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet. 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