Canadians say U.S. no longer an ally, is bigger threat than Russia: poll

A plurality of Canadians no longer view the United States as an ally, a new poll suggests, while nearly half now view the United States as a bigger threat to world peace than Russia.

The Politico poll released Thursday is the latest sign of tattered relations between the two countries in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and attacks on Canada’s sovereignty, and aligns with recent Ipsos polling on the issue conducted for Global News.

The new poll was conducted in partnership with U.K.-based polling firm Public First, and surveyed thousands of adults in Canada, the U.S., Britain, France and Germany.

While majorities of the respondents in European nations said they viewed Russia as the greatest threat to peace amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, 48 per cent of Canadians surveyed chose the U.S., 19 points higher than the share that said Russia.

Forty-three per cent said they see the U.S. as “mostly a threat” to global stability.

Trump has deepened divisions with traditional U.S. allies, including threatening the stability of NATO with his push to acquire Greenland from Denmark, a member of the alliance.

The U.S. has criticized European nations for not focusing enough on its own defence, spending and overseeing a “civilizational erasure” the Trump administration says is due to mass immigration. It has also gone after European attempts to crack down on social media content, which is largely controlled by American companies.

Trump’s global tariff policies, including his use of them to extract foreign policy concessions, have also upended international trade and diplomacy.

3:48 Canadians divided on whether US military action is a realistic threat: poll

Prime Minister Mark Carney has warned of a “rupture” to the international rules-based order that the U.S. has long sought to lead, and is seeking to band “middle powers” like Canada together through trade and security partnerships to counter U.S. aggression.

The Politico poll found that a shifting view of the U.S. has permeated Canadian citizens as well.

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While 58 per cent of Canadians surveyed said they no longer view the U.S. as a reliable ally — outpacing those who said the same in France, the U.S. and Germany — 42 per cent went even further and said America isn’t an ally at all.

Larger numbers said the U.S. cannot be depended upon in a crisis (57 per cent) and “challenges,” rather than supports, its allies around the world (67 per cent).

Over two-thirds of Canadians said the U.S. tends to create problems for other countries rather than solve them, while 55 per cent said the U.S. doesn’t share Canadians’ values.

The negative view of the U.S. extends across the political spectrum, the Politico poll suggests. Conservative-leaning voters have a rosier outlook, however, with only 35 per cent saying the U.S. threatens peace, compared to 30 per cent who said Russia.

Still, the majority of conservatives agreed that Trump has made the Canada-U.S. relationship weaker (69 per cent, compared to 78 per cent overall) and is actively seeking conflict with other countries unprovoked (57 per cent of conservatives versus 69 per cent nationally).

Overall, those who said Trump has damaged the bilateral relationship were more likely to say they believe it will recover once he’s no longer president.

Ipsos polling in September found 60 per cent of Canadians said they can never trust the Americans the same way ever again after Trump’s actions. That number dipped slightly to 55 per cent in December.

1:55 Poll finds Canadians think relationship with U.S. is broken

Asked by Ipsos in January to what extent they agreed or disagreed with various statements on a possible U.S. military invasion of Canada, 56 per cent of Canadians said they either strongly agree (16 per cent) or somewhat agree (40 per cent) that the U.S. would never invade.

However, the same number said they were fearful an invasion could happen, with 17 per cent strongly agreeing and 39 per cent somewhat agreeing with the statement: “I am fearful Trump will use military force against Canada.”

“At Ipsos, we’ve been closely tracking Canada-U.S. relations for the past year, including through our exclusive polls for Global News, and we’ve found Canadians’ relationship with the U.S. has changed in a fundamental way,” Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs, told Global News in a statement.

“Altogether, we see a Canadian public distrustful and weary of our southern neighbour and looking for new trade partners and allies. This is something Prime Minister Carney has been pursuing and something we expect to continue to see reflected in our polling this year.”

Bricker noted Ipsos’ World Affairs and Security Report in November found that 40 per cent of Canadians view the U.S. as the greatest security threat to Canada.

Just 13 per cent of Canadians surveyed by Ipsos want to see Canada improve trade relations with the U.S., he added.

The Politico poll’s survey of Americans, meanwhile, found 59 per cent say the U.S. should aim to get closer to Canada, including a quarter who said the relationship should be “much closer.”

The numbers were identical among Republicans and Democrats, including so-called MAGA Trump and Republican voters.