WASHINGTON—Americans of all political stripes still like Canada. But Democrats are currently much fonder than Republicans, a new poll has found.

In a Pew Research survey in August, 63 per cent of Democrats said their feelings toward Canada were “very warm.” Just 39 per cent of Republicans said the same.

Eleven per cent of Democrats said they were somewhat warm toward Canada, while 20 per cent of Republicans said the same. On the whole then, 74 per cent of Democrats were favourably disposed toward Canada, compared to 59 per cent of Republicans.

Read more:

Talking to Americans about Trump’s attacks on Canada

Under Trump, a majority of Canadians dislike the U.S. for the first time in 35 years, likely much longer

Canadians overwhelmingly disapprove of Donald Trump, poll says

Twenty-six per cent of Democrats said they were either neutral (16 per cent) or cold (10 per cent) toward Canada. For Republicans, that number was 41 per cent: 26 per cent neutral, 15 per cent cold.

Pew did not ask the same question prior to the Trump era, so we cannot be certain if anything has changed in the wake of the president’s frequent 2018 criticism of Canada’s trade policies and of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The 24-point partisan divide Pew found in strong positive feelings about Canada, however, appears at least somewhat larger than usual.

According to Tim Gravelle, a University of Melbourne lecturer and public opinion expert who has studied the issue, during the George W. Bush and Barack Obama eras, “Democrats still tended to be five to 20 percentage points more likely to hold a ‘very favourable’ opinion of Canada, with Republicans more likely to hold a ‘somewhat favourable’ opinion.”

“The partisan divide in Americans’ attitudes toward Canada is a consistent finding in survey research. It’s not a new development in the Trump era,” Gravelle said.

In a separate August survey by Gallup, Trudeau had a better approval rating with Americans — 48 per cent approval, 24 per cent disapproval — than U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May, German Chancellor Angela Merkel or Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But there was a vast divide in Democrats’ and Republicans’ perceptions of Trudeau, a Liberal whose positions more closely match those of Democrats. Sixty-seven per cent of Democrats approved of Trudeau, versus just 30 per cent of Republicans.

American perceptions of Canada have long appeared to vary slightly depending on who is prime minister. In 2013, when Conservative Stephen Harper was Canada’s leader, Gallup found 95 per cent of Republicans and 91 per cent of Democrats favourable toward Canada.

Pew is not the first pollster to find a large partisan gap in 2018.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

In a survey by Democratic-leaning Public Policy Polling in June, 77 per cent of people who voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton in 2016 were favourable toward Canada; 7 per cent were unfavourable, 16 per cent unsure. Among Trump voters, conversely, just 54 per cent were favourable. Nineteen per cent were unfavourable, 27 per cent unsure.

“My hope is that it doesn’t have any policy potency; it’s just kind of affinity. It hopefully won’t affect the NAFTA negotiations or ratification of a trade agreement,” said Christopher Sands, director of the Center for Canadian Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Read more about: