April 11, 2025 — Canadians aren’t feeling that great about Wayne Gretzky any more. Fresh polling by Pollara shows an equal share of Canadians feel favourably (35%) and unfavourably (33%) towards Gretzky, a far cry from a 2010 Pollara survey where 8 times more Canadians felt favourably (73%) than unfavourably (9%) towards him.
Gretzky has come under criticism over the past year due to his friendship with Donald Trump, leaving feelings towards Gretzky politically charged.
Liberal voters: favourable 23% / unfavourable 49%
Conservative voters: favourable 53% / unfavourable 19%
While Gretzky is now offside politically from many Canadians, there is cross-partisan pride in Team Canada’s performance at the recent 4 Nations Face-Off. While there is no doubt some recency bias, Canada’s win at the 4 Nations Face-Off polled ahead of the 1972 Summit Series when survey respondents were asked to rank Canada’s greatest international hockey wins.
Moreover, Canadians hold nothing but good feelings towards team captain Sidney Crosby (favourable 58% / unfavourable 7%) and tournament hero Connor McDavid (favourable 42% / unfavourable 8%).
See the full details in our report and read additional coverage in the Toronto Star.
