A growing share of Americans now view Canada less favorably,
with the sharpest shift occurring among Republicans as President Donald Trump’s trade
confrontation with Ottawa strains one of Washington’s oldest alliances.
A new Economist/YouGov poll conducted Aug. 28-31, 2026,
found that 22% of Americans describe Canada as either “unfriendly” or an
“enemy” of the United States, the highest combined level recorded since 2016.
Among Republicans, the figure has climbed to a record 38%.
The result combines respondents who described Canada as “unfriendly” with those
who called it an “enemy”; it does not mean that 38% of Republicans consider
Canada an enemy.
Overall, only 3% of Americans describe Canada as an enemy,
while 19% describe it as unfriendly. At the same time, 39% continue to call
Canada an ally and another 25% describe it as friendly.
The numbers point to a significant political change rather
than evidence that most Americans have turned against Canadians.
Trump’s trade war is changing perceptions
The Economist/YouGov survey found that 58% of Americans
oppose raising tariffs on goods imported from Canada, while only 26% support
higher tariffs.
The partisan divide is substantial. 87% of Democrats and 64%
of independents oppose raising Canadian tariffs, compared with just 25% of
Republicans.
The difference is even greater among Republicans who
identify with Trump’s MAGA movement. 74% of MAGA Republicans support increasing
tariffs on Canadian goods, compared with 27% of Republicans who do not identify
as MAGA.
The poll also found that Americans are broadly skeptical of
Trump’s tariff policy. 68% say Trump’s tariffs have hurt average Americans,
including 50% who say they have hurt them “a lot.” Only 14% say the tariffs
have helped average Americans.
Republicans are far more likely to see Canada as unfair
The dispute is not simply about tariffs themselves. It has
also changed Republican perceptions of Canada’s behavior toward the United
States.
Overall, 28% of Americans say Canada has treated the United
States unfairly in trade, while 45% say Canada has not.
Among Republicans, however, 49% say Canada has treated the
United States unfairly.
That compares with just 11% of Democrats and 23% of
independents.
The numbers suggest that Trump’s rhetoric about Canada’s
trade relationship with the United States has found considerably more support
among Republicans than among the broader American electorate.
Most Americans still see Canada as an ally or friendly
country
Despite the deterioration, the poll does not show a majority
of Americans turning against Canada.
In the latest survey:
- 39%
describe Canada as an ally;
- 25%
describe Canada as friendly;
- 19%
describe Canada as unfriendly;
- 3% describe
Canada as an enemy.
In other words, 64% of Americans still put Canada in the
ally-or-friendly category.
The important change is that the opposing category —
unfriendly or enemy — has reached 22%, a record high since 2016.
The change is being driven disproportionately by
Republicans. Their 38% combined unfriendly-or-enemy figure is the highest
recorded in the YouGov trend data over the past decade.
Americans disagree over who would lose a trade war
The survey also reveals a sharp partisan disagreement about
the economic consequences of a prolonged U.S.-Canada trade war.
Overall, 41% of Americans believe the United States would be
hurt more, compared with 33% who believe Canada would suffer more.
Among Democrats, the gap is much larger: 61% say the United
States would be hurt more, compared with 16% who say Canada would.
Republicans hold the opposite view. Only 16% believe the
United States would be hurt more, while 57% say Canada would suffer more.
A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll released Sept. 1 also found
majority opposition to Trump’s latest Canadian tariff increases: 57% opposed
them, while 20% supported them.
The “Lake America” dispute
The conflict has also moved beyond trade.
Trump has ordered the federal government to use the name “Lake
America” for Lake Ontario in U.S. federal usage. The move has little practical
effect on the lake’s international name: Canada’s government and international
institutions are not required to adopt the U.S. federal designation.
The Economist/YouGov poll found that 68% of Americans
disapprove of the proposed renaming, while 17% approve.
Democratic opposition reaches 85%, and 77% of independents
disapprove.
Republicans are more divided, with 41% disapproving and 37%
approving. Among MAGA Republicans, 47% approve and 29% disapprove.
The Reuters/Ipsos survey produced a similar overall result:
63% opposed the renaming and 14% supported it.
Is Canada now an enemy of the United States?
No — at least not in any formal sense.
The YouGov finding should not be interpreted as the United
States declaring Canada an enemy or as 38% of Republicans saying Canada is an
enemy.
The 38% figure combines “unfriendly” and “enemy.” Only 3% of
Americans in the survey selected “enemy.”
Canada remains a U.S. ally and a major economic and security
partner. The poll instead measures how ordinary Americans perceive the
relationship.
That perception is becoming considerably more negative among
Republicans.
Which country is considered America’s enemy under Trump?
There is no single official U.S. government list that simply
designates one country as “America’s enemy.” U.S. national-security policy
distinguishes between adversaries, competitors, hostile states and other
categories, depending on the issue.
But the distinction becomes much clearer when looking at the
current military situation.
Iran is presently the most direct military adversary of the
United States under Trump’s presidency. The United States and Iran are engaged
in an active conflict, with U.S. forces conducting military operations against
Iranian targets and Iran retaliating against U.S. interests and forces in the
region. Reuters reported Sept. 4 that Trump was considering further strikes
against an Iranian fortified site, while a Reuters report on Sept. 5 said an
Iranian oil tanker near Kharg Island was reportedly struck by U.S. missiles,
although the attack had not been officially confirmed at the time of the
report.
Iran is therefore in a fundamentally different category from
Canada.
China and Russia remain major U.S. strategic competitors or
adversaries in different areas, particularly involving military power, technology,
trade, nuclear capabilities and geopolitical influence. But the United States
is not currently engaged in a direct war with either country.
Canada, meanwhile, is experiencing an extraordinary
deterioration in political relations with Washington while remaining formally
allied with the United States.
Why the Canada shift matters
For generations, Canada has been one of the least
controversial examples of a U.S. ally. The two countries share the world’s
longest international border, deeply integrated supply chains and extensive
defense cooperation.
The new polling does not show that Americans have broadly
abandoned that view.
It does show something more politically significant: Canada
is increasingly being viewed negatively by Republicans at the same time that
Trump’s administration is pursuing an unusually confrontational economic policy
toward Ottawa.
That relationship between political messaging and public
opinion is particularly visible among MAGA Republicans, who are substantially
more supportive of Canadian tariffs and more likely to approve of symbolic
measures such as renaming Lake Ontario.