Respondents are divided on whether Canadian politicians should “speak their mind” as the American campaign continues.
Vancouver, BC [August 14, 2020] – Few Canadians believe the tenure of United States President Donald Trump has been beneficial to Canada, a new Research Co. poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample, 73% of Canadians think that Trump’s term at the White House has been “bad” or “very bad” for Canada, while just 17% deem it “very good” or “good.”
Two thirds of Canadians aged 18-to-34 (67%) regard Trump’s presidency as “bad” for Canada, along with 74% of those aged 35-to-54 and 80% of those aged 55 and over.
Four-in-five Canadians who voted for the New Democratic Party (NDP) and the Liberal Party in the 2019 federal election (80% and 79% respectively) believe that Trump’s tenure has been detrimental to Canada.
While 28% of Conservative Party voters in 2019 think Trump’s presidency has been good for Canada, 63% hold the opposite view.
“The animosity from Canadians towards Donald Trump has risen dramatically over the past two years,” says Mario Canseco, President of Research Co. “In June 2019, only 15% of Canadians felt Trump had been very bad for Canada. In January 2020, the proportion increased to 29%. This month, it reached 47%.”
When asked to consider Democratic Party candidate Joe Biden as President of the United States, just over two-in-five Canadians (44%) say he would be “very good” or “good” for Canada, while 23% consider him “bad” or “very bad.”
One third of Canadians (33%) are undecided when pondering Biden—a proportion that rises to 41% among women, 39% among Canadians aged 35-to-54 and 51% among Albertans.
A Biden presidency is regarded favourably by 57% of Liberal Party voters and 51% of NDP voters. Significantly fewer Conservative voters (29%) hold the same view.
Canadians are split when asked whether elected officials should become involved in the U.S. election. While 46% would prefer for Canadian politicians to stay neutral and avoid public statements during the American campaign, 43% think they should speak their mind if they are concerned about the American presidential election.
Methodology:
Results are based on an online study conducted from August 7 to August 9, 2020, 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 plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
Find our data tables 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