Liberal voters most likely to perceive U.S. as an “enemy” in wake of trade tensions

Liberal voters were also the most likely to feel this way at 47 per cent, more than double that of Conservative voters at 18 per cent.

Source: RawPixel

Author: Quinn Patrick

A minority of Canadians now perceive the U.S. as an “enemy” state to their country amid a growing rift between the two nations with this sentiment felt highest among Liberal voters.

According to a new Leger poll, 27 per cent of Canadians now view their neighbour to the south as an “enemy.”

In terms of Canadian politics, Liberal voters were also the most likely to feel this way at 47 per cent, more than double that of Conservative voters at 18 per cent.

In viewing the U.S. as an ally, Conservative voters ranked the highest at 48 per cent, followed by NDP voters at 21 per cent.

Liberal voters were the least likely to view the U.S. as an ally at 20 per cent, trailing behind the Bloc Quebecois at 23 per cent.

Tariff threats and persistent ribbing from U.S. President Donald Trump that Canada should become the 51st state have been steadily straining a decades-long relationship.

“Three quarters of Canadians (74%) have an unfavourable opinion of Donald Trump, while 13% view him favourably,” reads the poll. “Among Americans, opinions are more divided: 41% have a favourable view of Trump, while 43% have an unfavourable one.”

While 30 per cent of respondents still say they consider the U.S. an ally, another 27 per cent of respondents consider the U.S. to be a “neutral” country.

Men were more likely than women to view the U.S. as an ally, at 39 and 22 per cent, respectively.

Discrepancies were found across the age of respondents as well, as Canadians aged 55 and older were the most likely to view the U.S. as an enemy at 35 per cent, compared to those between the ages of 18 and 34 at 20 per cent.

Regionally, Alberta was the most likely to view the U.S. as an ally at 41 per cent, compared to Atlantic Canada, which felt that way the least at 20 per cent.

The overall sentiment was wildly different from U.S. counterparts, as Leger found only 1 per cent of American respondents viewed Canada as an enemy, compared to 56 per cent who saw them as an ally.