- Americans across political lines now view Canada as less of a close ally than they did in 2023 amid escalating tariff disputes between the two nations.
- Republicans rate only the United Kingdom and Israel higher than Democrats do as close allies, while Democrats perceive stronger U.S. relationships with all other surveyed countries.
- The poll shows a significant decline in perceived Canadian-American alliance, with Democratic support dropping about 20% and Republican support falling roughly 10% since mid-2023.
A new poll conducted by The Associated Press-NORC Center shows Americans on both sides of the aisle as less likely to see Canada as a close ally than in September 2023.
However, the poll also shows Republicans and Democrats differing across the board on which countries they believe have a close relationship with the United States.
This poll comes amid tit-for-tat escalations in tariffs imposed by both the U.S. and its northern neighbor.
Friendliness with Canada and other countries shifts across party lines
In mid-2023, about 70% of Democrats saw Canada and the U.S. as close allies, and about half (55%) of Republicans said the same. In the year and a half since the first poll was taken, numbers have dropped roughly 20% for Democrats and about 10% for Republicans.
The poll also shows partisan differences in perceived foreign alliances across the board. While Democrats are more likely overall to view countries as close allies with the U.S., Republicans were more likely to view two nations as close allies: the U.K. and Israel.
Over half, 55%, of Republicans viewed the U.K. as a close ally, while 49% of Democrats reported the same. More divisively, 53% of Republicans said Israel was a close ally with the U.S., and only about a third of Democrats, 34%, agreed.
However, every other country and international group listed, including the EU, France, Germany, Mexico, Ukraine, China and Russia were believed to have a closer relationship with the U.S. by Democrats than Republicans.
The slide likely comes from the countries’ current tariff war
On March 1, President Donald Trump implemented a 25% tariff on all goods imported from Canada, as the Deseret News previously reported.
Three days later, on March 4, Canada reciprocated, imposing the same 25% tariff on $30 billion in U.S. goods. “These countermeasures ... will remain in place until the U.S. eliminates its tariffs against Canadian goods,” the Canadian Department of Finance reported.
Trump has justified the tariffs against Canada as being fair and as a means of protecting American jobs. In the Oval Office at the beginning of March, Trump said Canada has been “ripping us off for years on tariffs on lumber and dairy products,” claiming the country has long implemented 250% tariffs against the U.S.
Before Justin Trudeau resigned as Canadian prime minister, Trump had long referred to him as “Gov. Trudeau,” saying the country would “cease to exist” without U.S. financial support.
After Trump announced a 25% tariff on foreign made cars Wednesday, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced Canada will implement retaliatory tariffs, which will likely go into effect April 2.
“It is my solemn promise that when President Trump threatens us again, we will fight back. We will fight back with everything we have to get the best deal for Canada,” Carney said, per The New York Times.
The AP-NORC poll included 1,229 adults and was conducted between March 20 and March 24. It used a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, and the margin of sampling error for adults overall is plus or minus 3.9%.