Few Canadians are willing to give Beijing the benefit of the doubt when it comes to bilateral relations with Ottawa, according to a new poll conducted by Angus Reid Institute.
According to the survey, 40 per cent said the federal government should approach Chinese government as a threat to its interests while 22 per cent said they believe Beijing is an “enemy.” In contrast 12 per cent of Canadians surveyed said the view China favorably.
Canadians’ worldviews may have been affected by recent developments in the Canada-China relationship, with allegations that the Chinese government interfered in the last two Canadian elections .
Canadians also shared negative views about Russia. Data shows that as many as 72 per cent of Canadians believe Russia should be viewed as a threat or enemy after its invasion of Ukraine.
When it comes to the United States, three in five (58 per cent) of Canadians stated that they have a positive impression of this country, second time since 2016 that country’s favourability has been that high.
Two in five (39 per cent) are more negative in their assessment of the U.S. while the majority (73 per cent) of Canadians believe the U.S. should be viewed at least as a friend (25 per cent) if not as a valued ally (48 per cent).
The survey also found that three-in-fifth of past Conservative voters view China very unfavorably. The portion is 47 per cent for past Liberal voters, 37 per cent for NDP voters and 36 per cent for Bloc Quebecois voters.
However, most of Canadians (62 per cent) said they view Taiwan favourably as the territory continues to be a source of political tension for China.
METHODOLOGY
The Angus Reid Institute conducted this survey online between Feb. 23 to 25 involving a randomized sample of 1,622 Canadian adults who are members of the Angus Reid Forum. The margin of error is +/- 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.