OTTAWA — Merging Canada into the United States is unpopular in both Canada and the U.S., according to a new survey.
Pollster Angus Reid found that 90% of Canadians polled and almost half of Americans are against the idea of Canada becoming a state. In comparison, about 10% of Canadians and one-fourth of Americans support the notion.
The survey also discovered that 26% of American participants were uncertain when asked.
Most people in both Canada and the United States are convinced that President Donald Trump’s boasts about merging the two countries is just a publicity stunt: 52% of Canadians and 44% of Americans think he’s trying to get attention, while 32% of Canadians and 22% of Americans polled believe he actually intends to do it.
If Canada were to join the United States, most Americans believe it should be a voluntary move rather than a result of coercion.
Of Canadians polled, 77% say they should have the choice to join the union, compared to 5% who favour an armed invasion.
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A majority of Canadians (62%) don’t trust Trump to follow through on his statement that he won’t force Canada to join the US militarily, while nearly three in ten (29%) don’t think the US would invade Canada.
And of those who support Canada joining the United States, roughly half are in favour of the country becoming the 51st state, while a quarter advise against seeking statehood and would instead see Canada relegated to a less autonomous province without voting representation in the US Congress or the ability to participate in presidential elections.
Support for Canada coming into the U.S. is most strongly favoured by those who declared they voted for Trump, with 41% in agreement. In contrast, only 9% of those who said they voted for Kamala Harris expressed similar views.
Voters who opposed welcoming in Harris supporters ranked at 72%, while only 32% of self-identified Trump voters held the same sentiment.
Across all of Canada, it’s reported that between 82 and 92% were against the idea, with varying opposition rates in different provinces. The highest level of support was found in Alberta at 18%, followed by Saskatchewan at 15%, Manitoba at 12%, Quebec at 11%, the Atlantic provinces at 9%, and British Columbia and Ontario both at 8%.
While supporters of all major Canadian parties opposed Canada joining the U.S., 20% of Conservative supporters were in favour, compared to 5% of Bloc voters, 3% of Liberal supporters, and 1% of NDP supporters.
The information comes from two online surveys conducted on consecutive days in January. The first survey involved 1,653 Canadians who are registered on the Angus Reid forums, and was done between January 10th and 13th. The second survey, also conducted over the same time frame, included 1,716 Americans who are part of Angus Reid’s American forums.
On online panels, there’s no room for margins of error. Other samples of equivalent sizes would have about a 2% margin of error about one in five times.
