Most Canadians want their government to prepare for a war and fight back US President Donald Trump’s tariffsnew survey from Angus Reid shows on monday.
The survey comes as Canadians are bracing for steep and sweeping tariffs of 50 per cent, which will hit Canada next month and cover a wide range of Canadian goods.
The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from July 23 to 25 among a random sample of 1,790 Canadian adults.
More than six in 10 (62 per cent) of Canadians polled by Angus Reid supported retaliatory tariffs of some kind, with 34 per cent saying they want the government to match US tariffs dollar for dollar and 28 per cent supporting limited counter-tariffs, the poll shows.
About one in five (19 per cent) say they do not want retaliatory tariffs against the US, preferring that Ottawa negotiate a trade deal with the US.
A much smaller percentage (seven percent) of people said the government should make the concessions the US is seeking to avoid retaliatory tariffs, while 12 percent said they weren’t sure what the best course of action was.
Confidence in Prime Minister Mark Carney’s ability to negotiate a resolution with Americans has waned since the spring, according to polls. Less than half (43 per cent) of Canadians say they believe Carney can deliver a good deal for Canada, down from 51 per cent in April.
Half of the respondents (50 percent) are not confident in the government’s ability to negotiate a good deal. Of those, 26 percent said it’s because the Carney administration isn’t qualified to handle Trump, and 24 percent said it’s because the Trump administration is impossible to predict.
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Opinions also differ on how Canada should approach the supply management system in Canada’s dairy industry, which the US has identified as a major trade irritant.
About four in 10 (42 percent) say the government should remain committed to maintaining supply management during trade negotiations, while a similar number (44 percent) say it should be used as a bargaining chip.
However, 61 percent also oppose Canada accepting more market access to American dairy products. About half (48 percent) say American alcohol should not return to Canadian shelves, another major trade irritant for Trump after provinces removed American spirits from their shelves.
Canadian attitudes toward the U.S. have been strained amid the trade war, which began last year after Trump’s re-election and has continued ever since.
A Survey them conducted exclusively for Global News a year ago found that roughly three-quarters of Canadians surveyed said they intended to avoid travel to the U.S., while the number of people avoiding U.S.-made goods was 72 percent.
Asked if they thought less of the US as a country because of Trump’s various attacks on Canada’s economy and sovereignty, 77 percent of respondents last year said they agreed, with nearly half feeling strongly.
Pressure is mounting on the federal government to secure a deal with Washington.
The conservative critic of Canada-US relations is calling on Ottawa to secure its negotiating plan with the US in an emergency meeting.
Shuv Majumdar said in a letter to Carney that the Conservatives want an emergency meeting of the House of Commons Standing Committee on International Trade next week and called on Ottawa to present its written plans.
Majumdar said Carney should explain how the government will handle Trump’s latest tariff threat.
Trump last week said the US government would hit a range of Canadian products with 50 per cent tariffs in 30 days.
US officials said the new taxes are a response to provincial bans on US alcohol, Canada’s supply-managed milk system and quotas on US cars.
It comes as the House of Commons government operations committee is expected to meet on Wednesday to discuss a call from opposition members to investigate Carney’s handling of the Gordie Howe Bridge deal – specifically, the in-principle revenue-sharing deal with the US.
– with files from The Canadian Press and Global’s Ari Rabinovitch
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