Canadians rate U.S. relations as poor as ties with Russia, worse than links to China

Canadians say their relations with Washington are just as bad as ties with Moscow, according to polling that suggests an openness to improving links with China and especially Mexico.

Just 16 per cent of Canadians polled by Leger say Canada has a good relationship with the U.S., compared to 15 per cent for ties with Russia.

Meanwhile, 36 per cent of Canadians say Ottawa has a good relationship with Beijing, while the number ranks higher than75 per cent for ties with Mexico, the European Union and the U.K.

"When Canadians give their relationship with the United States such a really horrible evaluation, it's largely attributable to our expectations about that relationship, which are generally considerably better" than the current situation, said Jack Jedwab, president and CEO of the Association for Canadian Studies.

"To see it hit that level where we evaluate our relations withthe United States as badly as we do our relationship withRussia — and assess our relations with China better than our relations with the United States — is really mind-boggling."

Leger Marketing surveyed 1,603 people from April 17 to 19 for the Association for Canadian Studies. It can not be assigned a margin of error because it was a panel survey.

Jedwab said virtually all of these sentiments can be attributed to U.S. President Donald Trump threatening Canada's sovereignty and economy, as well as those of other regions.

"Donald Trump has done more to unify Canadians than any leaders since the post-Confederation period," he said.

Jedwab said it's notable that Canadians see themselves ashaving very strong ties with Mexico, just months after politicians like Ontario Premier Doug Ford sought to distance Canada from Mexico on issues like fentanyl trafficking and migrants.

"There is a perception amongst Canadians that we're dealing with some of the same challenges as Mexico is, in terms of our respective most important ally," Jedwab said.

This week, Chinese Ambassador to Canada Wang Di told The Canadian Press that Beijing is offering to form a partnership with Canada to push back against American "bullying." He suggested the two countries could rally other nations to stop Washington from undermining global trade rules.

"It's showing some potential for reordering," Jedwab said, though he cautioned he wasn't sure how much that would be possible with China.

"When you're often in these sort of global conflicts, it is necessary to negotiate or try to reconcile with countries that you may be at odds with."

Jedwab said Canadians rank the state of relations with other countries based on their expectations. For China, the statistics suggest Canadians expect strain in relations with China but might see an opportunity to improve the situation, given how low it has been in recent years.

That's also why respondents in Alberta and British Columbia ranked relations with Beijing as being particularly bad, as so much trade with China comes from those provinces.

Meanwhile, Liberal Leader Mark Carney recently described Beijing as "the biggest security threat to Canada" while Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has long described Beijing as an autocracy that disrupts the world order.

"You could have a positive relationship with a country and still feel the relationship is bad," Jedwab said, arguing whoever is elected prime minister next week will have a country wanting a better relationship with the U.S.

"We're going to have to channel this into something constructive."

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby