Right-leaning Canadians are religiously closer to Harris Democrats than Trump Republicans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

6 November, 2025

OTTAWA – A major Canada-US survey confirms that religion remains a significant part of Canadians’ and Americans’ lives—but to very different degrees. In partnership with Cardus, the Angus Reid Institute (ARI) surveyed 5,000 adults in Canada and 5,000 in the United States in March 2025. The survey found that 37 percent of Americans identify as religiously committed compared to 18 percent of Canadians. Those who are religiously committed typically display higher rates of belief in God, behaviours like prayer and reading a sacred text, and regular attendance at religious services, among other factors.

The privately faithful engage in some religious behaviours but are often skeptical of organized religion. The spiritually uncertain believe in a higher power and may sometimes think about a reality beyond the physical world. Non-believers completely reject religion.

“It’s not just the intensity of religious belief and practice that vary between Canada and the United States,” says Ray Pennings, executive vice president of Cardus. “The character of religiosity differs. Religiously committed Canadians volunteer, donate to charity, and get involved in their neighbourhoods at higher proportions than both Canadians generally and religiously committed Americans.”

Fully 55 percent of religiously committed Canadians say they’ve volunteered for a community group or cause, compared to 51 percent of religiously committed Americans. Nationally, 40 percent of Canadians and 39 percent for Americans reported volunteering. Meanwhile, 82 percent of religiously committed Canadians donated to charity, compared to 71 percent of religiously committed Americans. That compares to 66 percent of Canadians generally, and 58 percent of Americans generally, who’ve donated. Religiously committed Canadians also help out someone in need, socialize with their neighbours (beyond a quick hello), and participate in neighbourhood or community projects at higher rates than their American counterparts.

There are also distinctions in political affiliation. The differences in religiosity among various political party supporters in Canada aren’t nearly as stark as they are in the United States.

“Despite their policy differences, Canada’s federal Conservative voters most closely match 2024 supporters of Democrat Kamala Harris in terms of religious intensity,” says Pennings. “This suggests that religious Canadians aren’t easily packed into tidy ideological boxes.”

Details on poll results, methodology, and sample sizes are available on the ARI website.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Daniel Proussalidis
Cardus – Director of Media & Public Relations
613-241-4500 x508
media@cardus.ca

Shachi Kurl
Angus Reid Institute – President
604-908-1693
shachi.kurl@angusreid.org

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