OTTAWA — Despite Prime Minister Justin Trudeau being the first G7 leader to meet with President-elect Donald Trump after his recent election win, fewer Canadians think Trudeau’s got what it takes to protect Canada’s interests now than in 2017.
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Numbers in a newly-released Angus Reid poll show about 42% of Canadians have confidence in the Trudeau government to represent Canada’s interests with the soon-to-be U.S. President.
That’s lower than 2017 when 60% of Canadians felt Trudeau had what it takes to match wits with the obstreperous leader.
Of those polled, only 6% were very confident in the government’s ability to deal with Trump, compared with 36% who reported feeling “moderately confident.”
Fifty-eight percent said they weren’t confident.
Unsurprisingly, declared Liberal voters had the most confidence in the government protecting Canada’s interests, with 73% saying they were either very or moderately confident, compared to 26% who said they weren’t — despite Trudeau’s support base being much smaller in 2024 than it was seven years ago.
NDP voters were split — 53% had confidence in the government, while 47% did not.
Forty-three per cent of Bloc Québécois voters said they were confident, compared to 57% who weren’t.
The margin was much wider among decided Conservative voters, with three-quarters expressing little confidence in the government compared to 25% who did.
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The same poll revealed just under half of Canadians want the Trudeau government to play hardball with Trump over his tariff threat — with 49% saying that even if Trump imposes the promised 25% tariffs on imported goods, Canada shouldn’t let itself be bullied.
Thirty-three per cent want Canada to negotiate for lower tariffs, 10% want Canada to do whatever the US asks of them, while 9% had no opinion.
Canadians’ impressions of Trump appear to have stayed consistent since 2017 when 68% of respondents felt pessimistic and worried over a Trump White House compared to 32% who felt optimistic in hopeful.
In 2024, the pessimists increased to 72%, while optimists fell to 28%.
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One question most Canadians seem to be united on is if Canada should become the 51st U.S. State, with only 5% of respondents saying they’d be in favour.
Support for a change in government remains strong among respondents, with 43% expressing support for the Tories, while the Liberals remain tied with the NDP for 20% of the vote.
The Bloc maintains 11% of the vote, compared to 4% for the Greens and 3% for other parties.
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