Habs Are Canada’s Team: Angus Reid Poll

The puck drops on Saturday for the Stanley Cup playoffs, and Canadians will have less representation this year than they’ve had since 2021. Just three of the seven teams north of the border will compete to end Canada’s 33-year Cup cold streak.

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds Canadians divided in both their allegiance and their faith, but largely united in their desire to see a Canadian team finally hoist the cup.

Asked which team they would prefer to see win the cup, nearly half of hockey fans say Montreal (46%), while one-in-three say Edmonton (34%). Notably, in the west, 55 per cent choose the Oilers, and in the east, 55 per cent choose the Habs. Overall, 15 per cent are cheering for the Ottawa Senators.

So, which is more likely, the Oilers returning to the finals for the third year in a row and taking the final step, the Senators winning the cup as a long shot, or the Canadiens breaking the streak that has endured since their last championship in 1993?

Hockey fans are nearly equally likely to say that Montreal (31%) or Edmonton (27%) represent Canada’s best hope to be the next Canadian team to win the cup. The Senators trail the Maple Leafs (8%) and the Canucks (5%), representing the fifth choice (4%).

Whoever it is, most Canadian hockey fans will rejoice if the day ever comes. Seven-in-10 (72%) say they’ll cheer for any of Canada’s teams. This is a significant increase compared to 2016 (57%) and 2024 64%).

(Angus Reid Institute)