Americans, Canadians say Trump was wrong to impose tariffs on Canada: Poll

Majorities of Americans and Canadians believe US President Donald Trump was wrong to impose new tariffs on Canada, according to a POLITICO Poll released Wednesday.

The survey found that 56% of US respondents said Trump was wrong to impose tariffs on Canadian goods, while 26% said he was right. In Canada, opposition was significantly stronger, with 83% saying Trump was wrong and just 8% saying he was right.

Canadians also largely backed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s response. Some 71% said Carney was right to impose reciprocal tariffs on US goods, while 17% disagreed.

Americans were more divided over Carney’s move, with 33% saying he was right and 31% saying he was wrong.

The poll, conducted between Sept. 13 and 15, surveyed 2,064 US adults and 2,119 Canadian adults online. The margin of error was 2.2 percentage points for the US sample and 2.1 points for the Canadian sample.

Trump imposed a 50% tariff on about $20 billion worth of Canadian goods after trade talks broke down in August. Canada responded with matching tariffs on Sept. 8.

The US subsequently announced an outright ban on some Canadian imports, including motorcycles and whiskey, due to take effect Sept. 29.