The federal election campaign appears to have revived Canadians' passion for politics.
Vancouver-based Angus Reid pollsters have discovered Canadians became more hopeful about politics as the decisive election campaign raged on.
Canadians' revved-up regard for the democratic process held firm even after Stephen Harper's Conservatives won their first majority and the New Democrats for the first time became the official Opposition.
More than 61 per cent of the population told Angus Reid pollsters after the election they were "proud to be Canadian."
"The respect for politicians actually went up during the election campaign. People got engaged," Angus Reid pollster Andrew Grenville said.
Almost half the population agreed a "Conservative majority will be good for Canada," with a solid 64 per cent applauding the NDP's Jack Layton (below left) moving into Stornoway, the Opposition leader's official residence.
Soon after the May 2 election, more than seven out of 10 people agreed that "federal politicians are working very hard to help create a better Canada."
Check out how religion and ethnicity shaped the results
Even though Angus Reid's pollsters sensed fresh political vitality in its survey of 1,019 Canadians, they also found some still harbour distrust of the electoral process.
Almost half of Canadians would prefer some form of proportional representation to our first-past-the-post system, which has allowed the Conservatives and Liberals to form majorities with less than 40 per cent of the popular vote.
In addition, almost two out of three Canadians (and British Columbians) favour "mandatory voting" like in Australia.
Another harbinger of change may be found in how 43 per cent of Canadians support the NDP and Greens forming a coalition, with another 37 per cent backing an NDP-Liberal merger. Of Liberals, a strong two-thirds wanted to join the NDP.
Angus Reid performed an additional experiment to measure Canadians' political pulse, which wound up suggesting the media need to do more to bring citizens into the political process.
An online Angus Reid poll during the live English leaders' debate consistently found viewers expressing strong "annoyance" when the politicians attacked each other.
At the same time, the second-by-second polling revealed Canadians appreciated hearing the politicians' views on issues such as Canada's military role in Afghanistan.
Grenville believes Canadian TV debates could be designed more like U.S. presidential debates, where candidates are discouraged from interrupting.
In further efforts to measure the nation's character, Angus Reid divided Canadians into intriguing clusters of political personalities, such as the "Invigorated Right" and "Serious Cynics."
Angus Reid found 20 per cent of Canadians are part of the law-and-order "Invigorated Right," three-quarters of whom voted Conservative.
At the other end of the spectrum, the pollsters characterized 13 per cent of Canadians as optimistic "Mid-Left Hopefuls," almost half of whom cast their ballots for the NDP.
The biggest cluster - the "Mistrustful Middle" who make up one-third of the electorate - split their vote between the Conservatives, NDP and, to a lesser extent, the Liberals.
Another 18 per cent of Canadians, dubbed "Dashed-Hope Citizens," believe the country is motoring down the wrong track; they avoided the Conservatives and equally supported the NDP and Liberals.
Meanwhile, the "Serious Cynics," the 14 per cent of Canadians who are jaded about the status quo, strongly backed the NDP, handing the party 46 per cent of their ballots.
{Readers can find out their political type by taking the short online Angus Reid quiz at http: //elections.angusreidforum.com).
The polling company's survey also revealed that Canadians generally hold liberal values, except when it comes to serious crime.
Almost four out of five Canadians, but slightly fewer British Columbians, say the courts "need to give much tougher sentences to all those convicted of criminal acts."
However, most Canadians balked at jailing people for minor offences such as breaking and entering, saying: "It does more harm than good."
The live-and-let-live views of Canadians came out strongly on sexual morality, with 83 per cent of Canadians agreeing "the lifestyles of gay and lesbian people are just as valid as those of heterosexual people."
However, Canadians aren't opposed to government intervention on non-bedroom-related issues. Three-quarters of Canadians want stricter environmental regulations, saying they're "worth the cost."
Another 68 per cent of Canadians believe governments need to provide more financial aid to the poor, suggesting most Canadians don't oppose political action for the common good.
Finally, even though a majority of Canadians supported various tax cuts, only one out of five agreed that "government debt should be reduced, even if it means cuts in health care."
While cynicism about politics seems to be common on radio talk shows and blogs, these poll results suggest Canadians have not at all given up on the potential of politics.
Scroll through more Canadian-based polls on politics, religion and immigration
