WASHINGTON, D.C. — Canadian affection for America has dipped to new lows thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump’s fiery rhetoric and aggressive tariff policies, leading to fewer trips south of the border and a strong Buy Canadian campaign amid intensifying anti‑American sentiment.
But have long-held positive American views of Canada changed?
According to a new Leger survey, 57 per cent of Americans trust Canada to negotiate in trade talks in good faith, while only 42 per cent trust the Trump administration to do the same.
This suggests Americans trust Canada more than their own government on trade. But does this trust gap tell us more about Canada’s standing in Americans’ minds, or about how politically exposed the U.S. administration is on trade?
“I think it’s a combination, to be honest,” said Andrew Enns, executive vice-president of Leger’s Central Canada operations. “You have to look at the hyper-partisanship in the U.S. There’s probably 20 per cent of Democratic voters who wouldn’t trust Donald Trump on any question, so he starts at a bit of a handicap.”
“But you also have to factor in that some of the president’s moves have been unpredictable … and that is starting to weigh a bit with respect to trust in the administration.”
The trade link is interesting, given that Canada and the US are supposed to engage soon in talks about the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) this summer. Could this favourable judgment by Americans signal any leverage for Ottawa in upcoming negotiations?
Andrew Hale, fellow at Washington-based Advancing American Freedom, argues that trusting Canada more in trade talks is a judgment on Trump — a reflection that many Americans are fed up with his erratic behaviour and his use of trade tools to settle political vendettas.
“People are fatigued by Trump’s tariff policies,” Hale said. “Businesses want to be able to make business plans. Banks want to be able to have long‑term investment plans.”
But while the numbers signal that the White House is seen as unreliable, they do not mean Canada suddenly has won a great deal of goodwill, he explained.
Eric Miller, president of Rideau Potomac Strategy Group, a trade consultancy, agrees and said such views will have little effect on any trade negotiations.
“American trade policy today is about one person, and that’s Donald Trump … If Democrats trust Canada more than the U.S., (the White House) will view that as the problem being with their fellow Americans rather than as a pressure point for shaping their conduct in negotiations.”
In fact, the Leger data may say more about the power of U.S. partisan politics and fiery presidential rhetoric, Miller said, noting that other recent research suggests Americans’ favourable views of Canada have dropped to a new low.
“There is a meaningful segment of the electorate that now is effectively skeptical of Canada, and that’s not something that Canada has dealt with before,” Miller added.
A similar Leger poll, for instance, wouldn’t have been needed in years past as skepticism of America’s northern neighbour would’ve been less pronounced.
“Prior to Trump … the very fact of a possible conflict with Canada was risible,” explained Miller. “I mean, this is why Weird Al Yankovic did a song called ‘Canadian Idiot,’” and why absurdities about a Canadian invasion are so common in U.S. satire.
What leaders say matters. When Trump criticizes Canada, it influences how his base sees the country.
Frank Graves, founder of Ottawa-based EKOS research, agrees.
“The attitudes, while favourable, are dramatically less favourable than they were four years ago … Canada’s reputation has been tarnished by the disputes between Canada and the United States on trade and tariffs and other issues.”
Enns pointed to the power of the president’s rhetoric.
“The relentless messaging … ‘They’re not good people to trade with. They are not good people. They have really bad banking policies.’ … Whether or not Americans listen to every single one, the endless stream of it … has had an impact,” he said.
Trump saying things like he “doesn’t care about Canada” and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick saying “They suck!” about Canadian trade negotiators have caused “lasting damage,” said Hale.
The survey, however, also noted that only 15 per cent of Americans saw Canada as a close ally, while another 25 per cent saw it as a friendly partner that generally shares U.S. interests. So why the asymmetry between trade trust and a poor sense of allyship?
“I think it’s a reflection of gross ignorance,” said Hale. “Most Americans could not identify Ottawa as the capital of Canada … There’s just basic facts about Canada they are unaware of.”
Americans know very little about Canada and generally look inward at their large country, rather than outward at the world, he explained. The majority of Canadians, meanwhile, live within 100 miles of the U.S. border, watch American news, and understand U.S. history.
While Americans look inward, Canada is a “country with a smaller population looking outward at the world and looking down at the United States,” he said.
But having a meaningful segment of Americans be skeptical toward Canada is something Ottawa has never had to manage before — and it’s a problem that Canadians will need to address, said Miller.
“Here’s a milestone of some of the harm that’s been done from 15 or 18 months of President Trump’s statements on Canada,” he said. “But it’s time to start thinking about the future and where all of this goes in a different political context, a kind of post‑Trump context.”
Hale says the Liberal Party should start by weaponizing anti-American sentiment less for electoral benefit.
“I think that is not in the national interest of Canada either, because, at the end of the day, they should want to have good relations with the United States, and they do have to deal with President Trump for the next almost three years that he remains in office.”
“It would behoove them not to behave so cynically on the domestic electoral front” and to take a longer-term approach to US-American relations, he added.
National Post
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