Almost half of British Columbians try to avoid swearing in public: poll

CONTENT ADVISORY

Nearly half of BC residents alter the way they speak to make sure they don’t swear in public, according to a recent poll conducted by Research Co.

Only one-quarter of British Columbians say they frequently swear in front of their friends with most (30%) saying that they rarely do, which is more than any other province.

Two-in-five BC resident say they would never swear in front of a relative and nearly the same number (39%) said they would never use bad language in front of co-workers. Only a quarter said they would swear occasionally at work and even less (22%) would swear in front of family. 

However, it seems most believe their manners are not reciprocated.

Over a third of British Columbians say their co-workers tend let the odd swear word loose in conversation and 35% said that strangers will casually swear in front of them. 

Over a third said their relatives will swear in conversation with them and close to two fifths say their friends will.

On a province-by-province basis, Ontario residents are the most likely to always watch their tongue (47%), followed by Alberta (46%), British Columbia (also 46%), Saskatchewan and Manitoba (43%), Quebec (41%) and Atlantic Canada (35%).

“Canadians aged 35-to-54 are the least likely to always avoid swearing in public (38%),” said Mario Canseco, president of Research Co in a news release. “The proportions are higher among their counterparts aged 18-to-34 (46%) and aged 55 and over (48%).”

The results also vary alongside political beliefs. Those who voted for the New Democratic Party (NDP) in the last federal election are more likely to use swear words “frequently” or “occasionally” when talking with friends (68%) than those who cast ballots for the Liberal Party (60%) or the Conservative Party (52%).

The poll also presented participants with an open-ended question seeking to collect the swear words that Canadians say the most.

Two-in-five respondents wrote “fuck” (40%), while just under a quarter (23%) chose “shit” or “merde”.

Less than one-in-five Canadians (17%) claim that swear words are never a part of their vocabulary.

More about the poll can be found on the Research Co. website here.

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