Only one-in-five believe Canada has benefitted the most from free trade in North America.
Vancouver, BC [June 26, 2019] – A plurality of Canadians believe the country’s legislature should ratify a recently signed trade agreement, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 48% of Canadians think the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) should be ratified, while more than a third (36%) disagree and 16% are undecided.
Canada, the United States and Mexico signed the CUSMA in 2018. At the time the survey was conducted, none of the three national legislatures had ratified the agreement.
Support for Canada’s ratification of the CUSMA is highest among men (53%), those aged 18-to-34 (57%), British Columbians (51%), Ontarians (50%) and Atlantic Canadians (also 50%).
“More than half of Canadians who voted for the Liberal Party in the 2015 federal election (56%) want to see the CUSMA ratified,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “This is significantly higher than what we see among those who voted for the Conservative Party (45%) or the New Democratic Party (NDP) (42%) four years ago.”
Canada, the United States and Mexico have been partners in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) since 1994.
More than a third of Canadians (36%) believe the United States has benefitted the most from free trade in North America, while one-in-four (26%) select Mexico.
Only 20% of Canadians believe Canada has been the biggest beneficiary in continental trade. The perception of Canada being the victor in North American trade is lowest among Albertans (6%), British Columbians (11%) and those aged 55 and over (15%).
Across the country, more than three-in-five Canadians (63%) say they are “very confident” or “moderately confident” that the Canadian federal government will do what’s best for the country when it comes to international trade.
Confidence in the federal government’s ability to handle international trade is highest among women (68%), Canadians aged 18-to-34 (66%) and British Columbians (63%).
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from May 31 to June 3, 2019, among 1,000 adults in Canada. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region in Canada. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points, nineteen times out of twenty.
Find our full data set here and download the press release here.
For more information on this poll, please contact:
Mario Canseco, President, Research Co.
778.929.0490
[e] mario.canseco@researchco.ca