A majority of Canadians and Quebecers no longer feel welcome in the United States, while distrust of the Americans and their government remains very high five months after Donald Trump’s return.
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A new survey of the Association of Canadian Studies (AEC) led by Léger from June 20 to 22 found that 53% of Canadians do not feel welcome to their southern neighbors.
This result remained practically unchanged from the beginning of May, but testifies to the transformation of the relationship between these historical allies.
“This July 4 will be very different from the previous one. Although we talk less about Canada as 51e State of the United States, the taxation of customs duties and the replica of Canada contribute to continuous tensions between the two countries, “it is written in the AEC report.
Decrease in travel
The feeling of rejection of Canadians is no stranger to the significant fall in American soil trips, suggest statistical Canada figures unveiled in mid-June.
For stays by car with nights in the United States, the Federal Agency noted a decrease of 34.3% last May compared to the same month last year. For back and forth on the same day, the drop is 40.3%.
At the same time, the governors of New England States (Vermont, Maine, Massachusetts, New York, New Hampshire and Rhode Island) were a drop of 20% to 60% of Canadian tourists.
Plane stays by Canadians also decreased by 24.2% between May 2024 and 2025.
Note that in April, World Affairs Canada has changed its travel warning in the United States to include a notice on reinforced border surveillance. Another was added in June concerning military deployments in certain cities.
Not all like Trump
The survey shows that Canadians have a different look at “Americans” as a people and “the United States” as a country.
Questioned about the “confidence” they have towards the Americans, Canadians divide into three groups: 34% trust them, 35% do not trust them [cannot be trusted] And 31% do not know how to answer.
The portrait darkens when it comes to the American administration. Indeed, more than half of Canadians (53%) say they do not trust in the United States.
“People tend to associate the country with the government in place,” said Jack Jedwab, Managing Director of the Association of Canadian Studies. Confidence in the United States has been at its lowest since 2020, the last year of Donald Trump in power.
Note that the survey was carried out before the cancellation of the digital services tax by the Carney government, a condition for the resumption of negotiations between the two countries.
