A historic shift in how Canadians perceive the United States is becoming entrenched.
While some continue to pretend that Canada is somehow to blame for the hostility the Trump Administration expresses towards our nation, such ‘blame Canada’ perspectives are deeply out of step with where most Canadians are.
According to a new Angus Reid poll, just 22% of Canadians believe the government should approach the U.S. “on friendly terms (6%) or as “a valued partner and ally (16%). Meanwhile, 35% say the government should approach the U.S. cautiously, while 34% say the U.S. should be approached as “a potential threat to Canadian interests”. Five percent say the U.S. should be approached as “an enemy of Canada.”
Compared to March of 2025, there has been a one-point drop in the number of Canadians who think the U.S. should be approached as a friend or ally, and an eight-point drop in those who think the U.S. should be approached as an enemy. Meanwhile, there has been a 10-point increase in those who think the U.S. should be approached cautiously. This indicates that even when outright concern about U.S. hostility abates, there is no increase in trust. Instead, most people are willing to do is be cautious towards the U.S. – a logical stance given ongoing threats to our sovereignty and economy from the Trump Administration.
The immensity of the shift in Canadian perceptions of the U.S. can be seen when looking at where these numbers stood in November of 2024. At that time, 59% of Canadians viewed the U.S. as a friend or ally, compared to 36% who were in the threat/caution camp. Even in January of 2025, with Trump about to return to the U.S. Presidency, 42% were in the friend/ally camp, compared to 51% in the threat/caution camp. This also discredits the claim that negative Canadian views of the U.S. are simply due to ‘anti-Americanism’. The reality is that Canadians had quite positive views of the U.S. until the U.S. President talked about annexing our country and imposing economic pain on Canada through tariffs.
As Trump’s hostility continues, and as Canadians justifiably recoil from the cruelty of Trumpism, we are seeing the more negative/cautious view of the U.S. become entrenched. This is something all Canadian politicians and aspiring leaders would be wise to keep in mind. There is no path to political success by pretending that what’s happening in the U.S. is normal, and blaming Canada will only generate a fully justified backlash.
Spencer Fernando
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