Poll shows most Canadians reject joining Trump’s “Golden Dome”

A majority of Canadians do not want to join U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” continental missile defence system despite early indications of a desire by Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Source: Facebook

A majority of Canadians do not want to join U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Golden Dome” continental missile defence system despite early indications of a desire by Prime Minister Mark Carney to have Canada included in the program.

In a poll conducted by Nanos Research, Canadians were asked if Canada should “pay the price” to be included in the Golden Dome missile shield, or if the government should instead focus spending on boosting the Canadian Armed Forces’ capability.

The polling question disclosed that the program would cost taxpayers an estimated $61 billion USD, or approximately $83.5 billion CAD.

The poll found that 63 per cent of Canadians say we should not be part of funding the Golden Dome system and should instead boost funding for the CAF while only 17 per cent say Canada should pay the price and be part of it.

Opposition to the Golden Dome cuts across several demographic groups, as a majority of Canadians from every province and of all ages oppose contributing funding to the program, though men are twice as likely to support the program than women.

The Golden Dome, named after Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system is the Trump administration’s latest project to create a missile defence system to intercept foreign missile attacks on the United States.

Trump has promised that the Golden Dome would cost $175 billion to develop and will be built by the end of his presidential term in three and a half years.

While the president said that Canada would have to pay $61 billion to be part of the system, the Golden Dome would cost nothing if Canada decided to become the 51st American state. Trump claimed that Carney is “considering the offer.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney has confirmed that his government is engaged in ongoing discussions about Canada’s inclusion in the Golden Dome project, though nothing has been finalized yet.

The announcement that the United States would be pursuing the Golden Dome has angered Chinese officials.