More than half of Canadians think Trump’s presidency will have negative impact on the world, new poll finds

Donald Trump (Rebecca Noble/Photographer: Rebecca Noble/Gett)

Ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration as president of the United States on Monday, Canadians are feeling a range of emotions about what his second term will mean for them and the broader world.

More than half, or 59 per cent, of Canadians think Trump’s presidency will have a negative impact on the world, according to a new poll from Research Co.

The same percentage of those surveyed said his second term will negatively affect Canada, and 56 per cent believed the presidency will hurt their province.

The results were released Wednesday as Canada’s premiers meet with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to discuss the country’s response to Trump’s threat of hefty tariffs.

Responding to Trump’s effect on Canada, the results were similar across provincial boundaries, but varied based on age, gender, and party affiliation.

Three-quarters of Canadians over age 55 have a negative outlook on the presidency. That figure drops to 56 per cent for the 35-to-54 age bracket and 47 per cent for those age 18 to 34.

Nearly 40 per cent of Canadian men said they think Trump will have a positive impact on their country while just over a quarter of women said the same.

Among participants who voted Conservative in the 2021 federal election, 44 per cent felt positive about the upcoming term, compared to 28 per cent of Liberal voters and 20 per cent of NDP voters.

Participants were also given eight options to rate how they’re feeling about Trump taking office. “Disgust” was the top pick at 23 per cent, followed by “fear” at 19 per cent. The more positive reactions of “trust” and “joy” came in at nine and eight per cent, respectively.

When it comes to specific impacts, 60 per cent of Canadians surveyed said the Trump presidency will have a negative effect on “the state of political correctness in the world,” and 63 per cent think his tenure will harm the fight against climate change.

The party Canadians believe will be best equipped to deal with the looming effects of the next administration, the poll found, is the Conservatives—46 per cent saying a blue federal government would “definitely” or “probably” be the best for Canada, compared to 31 per cent who chose the Liberal party.

Since Trump was elected in November, some Canadians surveyed said they have changed spending behaviours. According to the poll, just over one in 10 have avoided American restaurants and 16 per cent have avoided buying U.S. goods if a non-American alternative was available. Thirteen per cent said they cancelled a trip south of the border after the election.

The poll was conducted online from Jan. 3 through 5 among a representative sample of 1,002 adults in Canada, according to Research Co. The data was statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region of the country. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.