Canadian Trust in the U.S. Almost Gone, Survey Shows

In his latest State of the Union address, most Canadians were relieved that U.S. President Donald Trump gave Canada just a passing nod, mentioning the U.S. Olympic hockey team’s win over Canada.  New data from the Angus Reid Institute shows that a vast majority of Canadians have pretty well had enough of Trump’s views on Canada.

The latest Angus Reid poll heard from over 1,650 respondents, with just 21% of Canadians holding a favorable view of the United States under President Trump.  And only about 22% said they view Canada’s closest neighbor as a reliable trading partner or as a friendly ally.

That poll also found that close to 70% believe Canadian negotiators should take a hard line on all upcoming trade negotiations, and that any completed deal involving the U.S. should be treated with a certain amount of caution.

Eric Grenier, an independent public polls analyst based in Ottawa, works with both private and public clients.

“69% of Canadians say that we should take a harder approach when it comes to our negotiations with the United States," Grenier said.  "It’s pretty clear what’s been causing it.  It’s Donald Trump and the entire government apparatus that is taking its cue from Trump.  It’s impacting Canadians’ views of how much they can trust the United States to be a good trading partner in the future.  A lot of Canadians do think that things will get better, but they’ll never get back to where they were.”

Comments made by the U.S. Trade Representative, Jamieson Grier, immediately after the State of the Union address only served to amplify the results of that Angus Reid poll.  Speaking to a Canadian journalist right after Trump’s address in Washington, Grier said that Canada must become an active participant in the America First trade agenda, and that Canada must be willing to accept an ongoing American tariff agenda, just like every other country that trades with the U.S.

“We’re focused on having an America First trade policy," Grier said.  "If Canada wants to come in and participate in this type of reshoring we’re trying to do, we’re happy to have those discussions. When we go to other countries, and we make a deal with them, the other countries agree that we can have a tariff on them.  And they open their markets to us.  If Canada wants to agree that we can have some level of higher tariff on them, and open up their markets to us, that’s a helpful conversation.”

The Trump Administration imposed a worldwide 10% tariff under a never-before-used law known as Section 122, immediately after the U.S. Supreme Court’s rejection of Trump’s broad-based tariffs.  However, this action can only stand for 150 days without further approval from Congress.  But Canadian negotiators are looking ahead.

Arlene Dickinson has a seat on the Prime Minister’s Council of Canada-U.S. Relations.  Dickinson said that Grier’s comments were about as plain-spoken as she’s heard from the American administration so far.

“He was very clear that any deal with Canada is going to involve tariffs," Dickinson noted.  "That’s the position that they’re taking. This is a zero-sum game; when America wins, somebody has to lose. We have to get more on offense and less on the defense.”

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