What were once the village idiot's delusions have come true
Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2018 4:26 pm
Canadians’ opinion of the United States falls to another record low
WASHINGTON—Canadians’ opinion of the United States fell this year to another record low, according to a major poll released Monday but conducted before the two countries reached a trade agreement on Sunday.
Just 39 per cent of Canadians polled in May and June had a favourable opinion of the U.S., Pew Research found in its annual survey of global opinion. Fifty-six per cent had an unfavourable opinion.
That was down from 43 per cent with a favourable opinion last year, the first year of Donald Trump’s presidency. In 2016, the last year of Barack Obama’s presidency, 65 per cent of Canadians had a favourable opinion of the U.S.
The 2017 survey was the first in which Pew, which has been asking the question since 2002, found more than 50 per cent of Canadians with a negative view of their neighbour. Pollsters in previous decades had also never found a majority of Canadians unfavourably disposed toward the U.S.
Canada’s 26-point decline between 2016 and 2018 was the fourth-biggest Obama-to-Trump decline of the 25 countries Pew surveyed. Mexico had the biggest decline from the Obama era: 34 points, from 66 per cent to 32 per cent.
The Canadian numbers might have changed in the three months since Pew completed its polling, or even since the trade agreement was announced, but they provide a useful indication of how Trump has harmed the reputation of his country.
Canadians’ confidence in Trump to “do the right thing regarding world affairs” actually ticked up slightly from last year, from 22 per cent up to to 25 per cent. But both numbers were massive drops from 2016, when 83 per cent had confidence in Obama to do the right thing.
Canadians’ confidence in Trump was exceeded by their confidence in German Chancellor Angela Merkel (68 per cent), French President Emmanuel Macron (64 per cent), and even Chinese President Xi Jinping (42 per cent). Russian President Vladimir Putin was tied with Trump at 25 per cent.
Canadian confidence in Trump varied by party. Forty-four per cent of Canadians who felt most closely aligned with the Conservatives had confidence in Trump. For supporters of the governing Liberals, it was just 10 per cent.
Sixty-six per cent of Canadians said relations with the U.S. had worsened since 2017. Just four per cent said they had gotten better. Twenty-eight per cent said they had stayed the same.
Canadians were negative toward the U.S. on several specific questions. Just 38 per cent said the U.S. respects the personal freedoms of its people, down from 57 per cent in 2016.
Sixty-three per cent of Canadians said the U.S. was doing less to tackle major global problems than a few years ago, while just eight per cent said it was doing more. Eighty-two per cent said the U.S. does not take Canada’s interests into account much or at all in making international decisions.
Canadians’ overall level of confidence in Trump was right around the median for the 25 countries Pew surveyed: 27 per cent confidence in him, 70 per cent no confidence.
