The Presidents and the Polls, 1963-2021: An Inquiry into Canadian Anti-Americanism

ABSTRACT A systematic examination of all available Canadian polling data from the early 1960s to the early 2020s demonstrates that Canadians’ opinion of the United States president influences their views of the United States. The data reveals that Canadians are open to presidents of both parties but oppose Democratic or Republican chief executives who are seen to fight unnecessary wars or undermine democratic institutions. A strongly positive view of the president strengthens Canadians’ faith in the US and a deeply negative perspective weakens it. Yet Canadians are also able to distinguish between Americans and their president. Despite their disapproval of George W. Bush, Canadians continued to hold favorable ideas about the United States while he was president. Donald Trump challenged Canada’s confidence in the United States as no other president has, but many Canadians, though a minority, remained well-disposed toward the US. The article considers the scholarly consensus that anti-American imagery and sentiments are tightly woven into Canadian history and society but finds in the survey data no evidence of a persistent or generalized anti-Americanism in Canada.