Canadians Overwhelmingly Support Prime Minister Mark Carney's Firm Stance in Trade Talks with Donald Trump

Strategic Insights -

A majority of Canadians surveyed in a recent Angus Reid poll want Prime Minister Mark Carney to take a hard approach in trade talks with U.S. President Donald Trump, rather than a softer stance. The poll, which collected data before and after Trump's tariff threats, suggests that Canadians are eager for their government to push back against the U.S. president's demands. Three in five Canadians (63%) want Carney to take a firm line in negotiations, while 37% prefer a gentler approach.

Key Takeaways:

  • A majority of Canadians (63%) want Prime Minister Mark Carney to take a hard approach in trade talks with Donald Trump, while 37% prefer a gentler stance.
  • Canadians appear to want more pushback against Trump's tariff threats, with nearly half of respondents supporting Carney's decision to scrap the digital services tax on American tech companies.
  • Half of Canadians (50%) want to protect Canada's supply management for dairy and other agricultural products, even if it involves retaliation.
  • One-in-three (35%) of Canadians would put supply management on the table as a last resort, while 15% would offer to end the program entirely.
  • Seven-in-ten Canadians (72%) oppose increasing U.S. access to Canadian water, whether it's the Columbia River or the Great Lakes.
  • Nearly two-thirds of Canadians (66%) say Canada should not offer the U.S. first priority on critical minerals.
  • More than half of Canadians (53%) say Canada shouldn't increase market access for U.S. banks or commit to buying more U.S. military equipment (54%).
  • Canadians appear split on whether Carney and his negotiating team are on the right track in negotiations with Trump, with a similar number of respondents (46%) being confident and not confident (45%) that Carney will deliver a good deal for Canada.

Statistics:

  • A total of 1,697 Canadian adults were surveyed in the Angus Reid poll, with a margin of error of plus or minus two percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
  • 63% of respondents want Carney to take a firm line in trade talks with Trump, compared to 37% who prefer a gentler stance.
  • 46% of respondents are confident that Carney will deliver a good deal for Canada, compared to 45% who are not confident.

Sources:

  • Angus Reid (July 2023)
  • Trump's open letter to Carney on Truth Social (no date)
  • The White House's clarification of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico agreement (no date)
  • Ursula von der Leyen's post on X (no date)
  • Unifor's news release condemning Trump's tariff threat (July 11, 2023)