I recently met a family that had moved to WA from Canberra, and they are committed GWS fans.
Have Canberra people embraced the Giants en masse?
I would say Canberrans have accepted the Giants, but not necessarily embraced them.
The Giants are a way for Canberran AFL fans to band together around a team. There's no historical baggage, so it's easy for AFL fans to adopt it as a second team (maybe not for Bulldogs fans).
The crowds in Canberra definitely favour GWS, but the majority of those would by supporting the Giants as a second team. Of the AFL fans I personally know in Canberra, I only know one who has GWS as their first team. For instance, I have a Port and GWS membership. I have GWS beanies, scarfs, caps (and a poncho), and I've travelled to Sydney for two finals, but any soft spot is gone when they play Port.
The support is more for AFL in a multi-code city, and GWS is a vessel for it.
This year, Manuka Oval has averaged 11,434, which is higher than Giants Stadium (and higher than Hobart or Darwin). Long-term, the Giants have averaged crowds of 10,612 (excluding 2021). For context, across North's seven seasons, they averaged 11,070. Western Bulldogs and Melbourne collectively hosted a eight games and averaged 13,020 and 10,005 respectively. There's probably a softer spot for GWS than previous teams given their commitment, but they haven't really got much more tangible support than previous teams we've hosted.
2019 was a good eye-opener. The Raiders (in the NRL) and Giants made the grand final one week apart. The entire town was lime green. Green cakes, green balloons, green streamers everywhere. Even at the reception at my local doctor's office. I honestly can't remember seeing a speck of orange. GWS didn't get the treatment of a real Canberra team.