Most Americans oppose tariffs on Canadian imports, annexation: poll

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OTTAWA — A majority of Americans oppose U.S. President Donald Trump’s statements about expanding the country’s territory and slapping tariffs on trade partners, including when it comes to Canada, a new survey suggests. 

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The Leger poll, based on a survey of 1,001 respondents taken in the lead up to Trump’s inauguration Monday, found only a minority who were asked about Trump’s proposals, including annexing Greenland or renaming the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America,’ were in support.

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When it came to the question of making Canada the “51st state,” which Trump has repeatedly referred to the country as, 55 per cent of Americans who were surveyed said they oppose the idea, compared to 24 per cent who expressed some support.

The poll also found that 53 per cent of respondents either “strongly oppose” or “somewhat oppose” the U.S. levying tariffs on Canadian goods, compared to the 29 per cent who backed doing so.

Support for applying tariffs on goods from Mexico was slightly higher, the results suggest. The survey reported 48 per cent of respondents as being opposed to such a move, compared to 34 per cent who said they were in favour.

“It turns out that … a lot of Americans are aware of the fact that tariffs can kind of cut both ways,” said Andrew Enns, an executive vice president at Leger.

Enns said it doesn’t appear Trump’s comments are being driven by a “groundswell of support by the American public.”

“Republicans tend to be a little more supportive of some of these things versus Democrats,” he said in a recent interview. “But even amongst the Republicans, it’s not like 70, 80 per cent of his base is sort of championing some of these annexation proposals.”

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The survey found 42 per cent of respondents answered that they either “strongly oppose” or “somewhat oppose” the U.S. taking control of the Panama Canal, compared to 35 per cent who said they support it.

Another 54 per cent of respondents said they were against leaving NATO, compared to 23 per cent who said they support the move. The results also show 57 per cent of those asked about renaming the Gulf of Mexico the ‘Gulf of America,’ rejected the idea, while only 25 per liked the proposal.

As well, 45 per cent of respondents said they opposed annexing Greenland compared to 28 per cent who offered some level of support.

Enns said he found the results reassuring given Trump’s comments about annexing new territories.

“A good chunk of Americans are going … ‘hold on here.’”

Asked whether Trump’s expansionist ideas were generally good or bad, 64 per cent said it was bad compared to only 36 per cent who said it was good.

Enns also noted that Americans are nervous about the potential impact of tariffs. The results show 67 per cent of respondents said they believed doing so would increase prices in the U.S. Another 21 per cent said they believe tariffs would not impact prices, while only 13 per cent felt they would bring them down.

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Canadian officials are preparing to retaliate should Trump made good on his tariff threat, with business and union leaders deeply concerned about the pain that would inflict on the country’s economy.

On Monday, Trump floated the idea that the 25 per cent tariffs he promised to impose on Canadian and Mexican goods could land by Feb. 1.

When it comes to the issue of border security, which Canadian officials have been trying to tackle after Trump listed the flow of migrants into the U.S. as one of his top irritants, Enns says the survey suggests Americans feel divided.

It found 47 per cent of respondents said they felt “not very” or not at all concerned about security along the Canada-U.S. border, as compared to 44 per cent who said they had some level of concern.

Enns said while many Canadians initially pointed their finger at Mexico after Trump expressed concerns about border security, he says the findings suggest Canadian officials were correct to take the issue seriously.

“I think there’s a general sentiment in America that their borders, the borders they share with any other country, need to be …  better controlled.”

National Post
staylor@postmedia.com

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