This is The Week in Polling, your Saturday dose of interesting numbers from top pollsters in Canada and around the world, curated by The Hub. Here’s what we’re looking at this week.
Three-quarters of Canadians want the federal government to bring back Parliament
Source: Angus Reid
Just over three-quarters of Canadians want their Parliament recalled. Of the 77 percent of Canadians who want Parliament to be brought back, 47 percent want it back so that a federal election can be immediately called.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued Parliament in early January upon his resignation as Liberal leader so that his party could elect a new leader. The party’s leadership election is scheduled for March 9. Meanwhile, Parliament is prorogued until March 24. Trudeau said the prorogation would “turn the temperature down ” and “reset” Parliament.
After Trudeau prorogued Parliament, President Donald Trump threatened to place 25 percent blanket tariffs on Canadian goods. This week, the tariffs were narrowly avoided for 30 days. The reason given was that Canada had conceded to a few of Trump’s demands, like bolstering border security and cracking down on fentanyl trafficking.
Trudeau told Trump on a phone call that Canada is enacting a $1.3-billion border security plan that would reinforce the 49th parallel with new helicopters, technology, and soldiers and would improve its efforts with America to tackle illegal drugs and migrants entering the U.S. The 30-day delay will expire on March 3.
Pierre Poilievre has adamantly called for the House of Commons to return. The Conservative leader has consistently vowed since the prorogation that he would immediately call a vote of non-confidence to bring down the Liberal government and trigger a federal election. However, calls are growing from some on the left to resume Parliament so that a “pandemic-level” relief package could be passed to assist those affected by the Trump tariffs. This week, Poilievre was asked by a journalist if he would “step aside and not compete for the head of the country to allow us to get through this crisis.”
“No, we are not going to suspend democracy,” he replied.
Nearly half of Canadians would prefer a Conservative government take on Trump’s tariffs
Source: Research Co.
Almost 50 percent of Canadians think a Conservative federal government would be better positioned than the current Liberal government to deal with incoming American tariffs on Canadian goods. Thirty-eight percent are not keen.
Poilievre said that instead of relying so heavily on the U.S. for trade, interprovincial trade barriers should be broken down so that “[Canada’s] new top trading partner will be Canada.” Poilievre also pledged that if the Conservatives win the next election, he would reward provinces with a “free trade bonus” each time they eliminate a trade barrier.
The Conservative leader has also proposed that, if elected, his government would host a meeting with Canada’s premiers within 30 days to discuss terminating interprovincial trade barriers, work on creating a national standard for trucking rules to prioritize east-west shipping over north-south shipping, and establish a professional qualification recognized in all provinces, allowing doctors, nurses, and engineers to easily work seamlessly across the country.
Americans oppose expansion into Canada, Greenland, and the Panama Canal
Source: Echelon Insights & GZERO Media
A recent Echelon Insights and GZERO Media poll found that 68 percent of Americans oppose Trump’s proposal to acquire Canada as the 51st American state, while 16 percent support the idea.
Opposition to annexing Greenland from Denmark is also strong, with 54 percent against and 23 percent in favour.
Capturing the Panama Canal received the highest level of support, with 34 percent of Americans in favour, though 44 percent opposed.
Like most American civilians, the leaders of the regions Trump wants to turn into states are not fond of his proposals. Trudeau dismissed the idea, asserting there is “not a snowball’s chance in hell” of Canada joining the U.S. Greenland’s prime minister, Múte Bourup Egede, firmly stated, “Greenland is today a part of the kingdom of Denmark. It is part of our territory, and it’s not for sale.” Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino refuted American claims of a deal allowing free transit for their warships to pass through the canal, labelling such statements as “false and intolerable.”
Discussing Canada, Trump said he would “love” for us to become the 51st American state, even though “some people say that would be a long shot. If people wanted to play the game right, it would be 100 percent certain that they’d become a state. But a lot of people don’t like to play the game. Because they don’t have a threshold of pain.”
While Trump has not implemented formal plans regarding Greenland, his proposals have sparked responses from the international community. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot contended that France had discussed deploying troops to Greenland with Denmark, a fellow NATO member. However, Denmark declined the offer in the name of respecting their national sovereignty.
At a press conference earlier this week, American Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it was “absurd” that the U.S. Navy must pay to travel through the canal that it has to protect by law, under the U.S.-Panama treaty. Last week, Trump repeated his vow to “take back” the Panama Canal.
Surprisingly, Canada’s allies have been notably silent when it comes to calling out Trump’s 51st state threats.
Aiden Muscovitch is a student at the University of Toronto studying Ethics, Society and Law. He has served as The Hub's Assistant…
