Canadians fear Trump winning presidency: poll
Posted November 3, 2016 8:58 am.
Last Updated November 3, 2016 10:49 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – With just days to go until the US presidential election, there appears to be growing fear among Canadians if Republican candidate Donald Trump wins.
A new online poll from Insights West shows 80 per cent of Canadians believe it would be “bad” for Canada if Trump trumped Clinton. That is the highest level reported to Insights West since it began tracking the US election in August 2015.
Most women, Canadians over the age of 55, and nearly 90 per cent of British Columbians and voters who supported the NDP in last year’s federal election are shown to be more likely to hold negative views on Trump. While one-third of Canadians believe a US presidency headed by Democrat nominee Hillary Clinton would be “bad” for Canada and 42 per cent expect it to be “good.”
More than half of Canadians admit they’ve seen, read or heard an ad for an American election candidate, but few have actually read the party’s platform or visited the website of the political party.
“The level of engagement of Canadians during this year’s presidential campaign in the United States has been extraordinary,” says Pollster Mario Canseco. “This is one of the reasons for the low number of Canadians who hold no opinion on either of the two main presidential nominees.”
The last few Republican candidates haven’t been popular in Canada either, but Canseco says Trump is in a league of his own. “Even conservative voters who usually gravitate towards Republican candidates and see them as a better option for the United States are turning their backs on him,” adds Canseco.
He says a third of Canadians would want the feds to cut diplomatic ties with the US if Donald Trump wins the election. “For one-third of us to say that we would be willing to sever diplomatic ties with our closest ally and partner, certainly speaks about the fear that many Canadians have about Trump becoming the next Head of State.”
Nearly 60 per cent of Canadians think that if Trump wins, the federal government should welcome Americans who want to move to Canada but only if they meet requirements of other immigrants.
But Conseco says Hillary Clinton isn’t a popular candidate north of the border either. “We have about a third of Canadians who think that a Hillary Clinton presidency would be bad for the country, but 42 per cent that feel it would be good for Canada.”
The poll also finds three-in-four Canadians think a victory by Clinton will be a historic milestone for women in the world and three-in-five want Michelle Obama to run for president one day.
