Canadians' opinion of the United States hits an all time low

In 2012 nearly 70 percent of Canadians had a favorable opinion of the U.S. Today that has dropped to 44 percent, less than half. This is the lowest value recorded since polls began way back in 1982

The poll was just released by Environics Institute on Monday. The entire poll can be found here.

Donald Trump`s election had a dramatic impact on Canadian opinion about the U.S. the report claims. 20 percent of Canadians now say they have a 'very unfavorable' opinion of the U.S. and 33 percent said they had a 'somewhat unfavorable' opinion of the country. The changed attitudes will have an economic impact through reduced travel to the U.S. Almost 20 percent said they had already changed travel plans because of the political situation in the U.S. Another eight percent were contemplating doing so.

The survey was of 2,002 Canadian resident contacted by phone between April 3 and 15, 2017. Results are accurate within 2.2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

In a poll last month, Abacus Data found that Canadians thought that Canada should not behave more like the U.S. When asked whether 'Canada should try to be more like the United States', 80 percent disagreed while only 20 percent agreed. Asked whether Canada should join conflicts with the U.S. in various countries, nearly half or more in each case preferred Canada remain neutral or even oppose military action and opt for diplomatic solutions:In light of Trump’s more combative approach to foreign affairs, the firm asked if Canadians could get behind their country joining the U.S. in an armed conflict against Syria, North Korea, Russia or China. In each hypothetical case, nearly half or more preferred Canada remain neutral or outright oppose military action while pushing for diplomatic answers.However 20 percent of Canadians favored joining in a military mission to remove Bashar Assad from power in Syria. 32 expressed support for the U.S. without participation. 20 per cent would also favor joining the U.S. against North Korea but with just 26 percent even approving public support without participation.

The U.S. did not come out well in some comparisons with China:When asked which country was doing more to “try to maintain peace and avoid conflict,” 61 per cent of respondents chose China. Fifty-seven per cent said China was “showing a better example of what world leadership should look like,” and 54 per cent said the nation was “more stable and predictable” than the U.S.

Only ten percent approved of Canada being involved in a war with China.. However on the issue of free speech, 84 percent agreed that the U.S. was more committed to the right than China. 61 percent of Canadians surveyed also saw the U.S. as doing more for the poor and 57 percent also thought the US was doing more to address climate change and environmental issues.

Bruce Anderson and David Coletto of Abacus write in the poll summary: “That so few believe Canada should be more like America is an illustration that for many Canadians, Trump’s America is not, for the moment anyway, a ‘shining city on a hill.'” The survey was conducted online between April 21 to 24. A random sample of 1,500 adults were chosen from a representative panel of some 500,000 Canadians. The margin of error for a similar poll would be 2.6 percent 19 times out of 20.