Just over half of Americans say they don’t want tariffs on Canada: poll

As U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war against Canada stretches into its second year, more than half of Americans said in an Angus Reid survey that they don’t want any tariffs on Canada, with the majority viewing their northern neighbour positively.

With the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) free trade agreement up for renegotiation this year, 51 per cent of U.S. respondents told the survey that if they had their way, there would be no tariffs on Canada at all.

This is up compared to October 2024, in the middle of Trump’s campaign to return to the White House, when less than half of respondents (48 per cent) said they didn’t want any tariffs on Canada.

Among those who identified as registered Democrats, this figure was at 72 per cent. MAGA Republicans are more likely to want a tariff on Canada, but 48 per cent said they would only want a “minor” tariff on Canada.

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Canada’s premiers gather at First Ministers’ meeting ahead of CUSMA negotiations

The survey, which was held among a representative randomized sample of 1,529 American adults, found that nearly half (48 per cent) want to keep CUSMA as is while another 23 per cent said they would want the U.S. to negotiate separate trade deals with Canada and Mexico.

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Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) of Americans said Trump’s tariffs are mostly borne by American consumers (56 per cent) or businesses (seven per cent).

While Trump has said Canada is “one of the worst” countries to trade with, nearly three quarters of Americans (73 per cent) said they have a favourable view of their neighbour to the north.

More than half (52 per cent) even said Canada was the “the most important” or “a very important” trading partner to the U.S.

This contrasts with Canadians’ views of their southern neighbours, with 39 per cent seeing the U.S. as “an enemy” or a “potential threat” and only 22 per cent thinking of the U.S. as being on friendly terms with Canada or being an ally.

Last year, polling conducted by Ipsos exclusively for Global News found that six in 10 Canadians (60 per cent) say they can never trust the Americans the same way ever again.

The poll also found that found that 42 per cent of Canadians said they believe Prime Minister Mark Carney will succeed in negotiating a new trade deal with the Trump administration.

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