Most Canadians support allowing more Chinese electric vehicles to be sold in Canada despite some nagging concerns, a new poll suggests.
Canada recently pledged to reduce its 100 per cent tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles to 6.1 per cent, with an annual cap of 49,000 vehicles. In turn, China is expected to lower retaliatory tariffs on Canadian agricultural products.
The Leger poll indicates seven in 10 people surveyed were aware of the agreement between Ottawa and Beijing, with awareness significantly higher among men and people aged 55 and over.
Sixty-one per cent of respondents supported allowing more Chinese electric vehicles into the Canadian market, including 24 per cent who strongly backed the decision and 38 per cent who somewhat supported it.
Support was notably higher in Quebec at 72 per cent, as well as among men and Canadians aged 55 and over.
"Canadians have changed their views radically in the past 12 months on just how we view our relationship with China, and this is just one example of that," said Steve Mossop, Leger's executive vice-president for Western Canada.
The poll, which was conducted online and can't be assigned a margin of error, surveyed 1,570 people from Jan. 30 to Feb. 2.
Despite the general level of approval, three-quarters of those polled had at least one concern.
The most common worries poll respondents expressed about Chinese EVs had to do with vehicle quality and durability, as well as the effects on the Canadian auto industry. Those were followed by concerns about data security and privacy, vehicle safety and geopolitical or national security issues related to China.
When Ottawa announced the deal with China, Ontario Premier Doug Ford expressed concerns about Chinese EVs spying on Canadian motorists.
Privacy commissioner Philippe Dufresne told a House of Commons committee this week his office is overseeing research into connected devices to find out more about the types of data collected by cars and other products.
The poll suggests apprehension about the effects of the deal with China on the Canadian auto industry was markedly higher in Ontario, home to many vehicle and parts makers.
The poll suggests nearly two-thirds of Canadians were concerned about possible retaliation from the United States if Canada strengthens trade ties with China. Concern rose to 71 per cent among respondents who opposed allowing more Chinese EVs into Canada.
Mossop said he found it interesting that 30 per cent of poll respondents reported they were not concerned about possible U.S. blowback. He suggested that number would have been lower six or eight months ago, when fears about American tariffs were more widespread.
"They don't think there's going to be follow-through," he said.
The survey also suggests 57 per cent of Canadians opposed curbing trade with China to avoid U.S. economic retaliation.
Perhaps not surprisingly, opposition to limiting trade with Beijing was stronger among those who supported allowing more Chinese EVs and those unconcerned about U.S. tariff threats.
The polling industry's professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.
Picture Courtesy: AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File
