OTTAWA — Canadians are giving the federal government mixed reviews for its handling of the diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia, a new poll shows.

A poll done by Forum Research shows that 44 per cent say they approve Ottawa’s response to the surprise tiff, with almost one-quarter saying they strongly approve.

But almost one-third of those surveyed (30 per cent) say they disapprove and of those, 21 per cent said they disapprove strongly. And more than half (54 per cent) said they are concerned about the impact of the dispute on Canada.

The diplomatic tussle began after Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland went on social media earlier this month to protest Saudi Arabia’s detention of several social activists and call for their release.

Saudi Arabia reacted angrily to the comments, which had been posted on Twitter, and took punitive action that started with the expulsion of Canada’s ambassador in Riyadh and the freezing of future trade and investment. Other measures followed, including the decision to end studies by more than 15,000 Saudi students at Canadian universities and ending flights to Toronto by Saudi’s national airline.

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In the wake of those actions and tough words from Saudi’s foreign minister, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau declared that Canada would always speak out about human rights concerns around the globe.

The poll found that progressive voters were more likely to approve of the government’s stance on the issue, which was not surprising since the issue involves human rights, said Lorne Bozinoff, president of Forum Research. Those who said they supported the Green Party, the NDP and the Liberals were approving of Ottawa’s handling of the file.

The diplomatic drama has also given Trudeau a bit of bump, similar to what he enjoyed in June after U.S. President Donald Trump lashed out at the prime minister after the G7 meeting in Canada, he said.

“In these international controversies ... there’s a bit of rallying around the flag,” Bozinoff said.

But he said a diplomatic dispute with Saudi Arabia doesn’t rank as a serious concern for most Canadians.

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“I’m not sure how much people really care about this issue. A dispute with the States? That’s big news. But a dispute with Saudi Arabia, I don’t think that’s really big news for a lot of people,” Bozinoff said.

The poll of 1,777 Canadians was done using an interactive voice response telephone survey between Aug. 10 and 12. It is considered accurate plus or minus three per cent, 19 times out of 20, according to Forum.

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