President Donald Trump recently imposed a 50% tariff on many Canadian goods, a move most Americans are strongly or somewhat opposed to, the latest Economist/YouGov Poll finds. 58% of Americans are opposed to raising tariffs on goods imported from Canada, while only 26% support doing so.
Majorities of Democrats (87%) and Independents (64%) oppose raising tariffs on Canada, compared to only 25% of Republicans. Republicans who identify as MAGA are far more likely than those who don't to support increasing Canadian tariffs (74% vs. 27%).
More broadly, 68% of Americans say Trump's tariffs have hurt average Americans — including 50% who say they have hurt a lot — and only 14% say they have helped.
28% of Americans believe Canada has been treating the U.S. unfairly in trade while 45% say it has not been treating the U.S. unfairly. Republicans are more likely than Democrats or Independents to say Canada has been treating the U.S. unfairly in trade: 49% of Republicans say it has, compared with 11% of Democrats and 23% of Independents.
In recent years, a growing minority of Americans have come to view Canada as unfriendly to the U.S.: 39% of Americans currently describe Canada as an ally and another 25% as friendly, while 19% now call it unfriendly and 3% an enemy. The 22% of Americans who now view Canada as unfriendly or an enemy marks a new high since 2016.
Growing negativity towards Canada has largely been driven by Republicans: 38% now view Canada as unfriendly or an enemy, by far the highest level in the past decade.
Americans are somewhat more likely to say the U.S. would be hurt more by a trade war between the two countries than to say Canada would (41% say the U.S. vs. 33% who say Canada). Far more Democrats say the U.S. would be hurt more than say Canada would (61% vs. 16%). In contrast, only 16% of Republicans think the U.S. would be hurt more compared to 57% who think Canada would.
Few Americans support Trump's recent proposal to rename Lake Ontario to Lake America: 68% strongly or somewhat disapprove of the idea, while 17% approve. Large majorities of Democrats (85%) and Independents (77%) disapprove. Republicans are slightly more likely to disapprove (41%) than approve (37%). The exception is MAGA Republicans: 47% approve of the renaming and 29% disapprove, while non-MAGA Republicans disapprove by 67% to 22%.
Image: Getty (Anna Moneymaker / Staff)
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