More Than Two-Thirds Of Canadians Believe U.S. Democracy ‘Cannot Survive’ if Trump is Reelected: New Poll Finds
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A new poll from Canada’s Angus Reid Institute (ARI), released on Wednesday, finds an overwhelming majority of Canadians are concerned about “America’s democratic conflict” and fear the overall collapse of U.S. democracy if former President Donald Trump returns to power.
The poll found that 47 percent of respondents are concerned the U.S. is moving toward being an authoritarian state, while 78 percent said they are “worried America’s democratic conflict will affect Canada’s economy and security.”
The survey summary explains the key findings:
Seven-in-ten (68%) of Canadians agree that democracy in the U.S. cannot survive another four years of Trump as president. They are joined in that sentiment by half (49%) of Americans, but many (44%) on that side of the 49th parallel believe democracy in the U.S. will be fine even if Trump is president again.
Only 24 percent of Canadians surveyed disagreed with the statement that the “U.S. cannot survive another four years of Trump as president.” 8 percent of Canadians polled said they “Did not know or couldn’t say.”
The poll was conducted shortly after the Freedom Convey of truckers began protesting vaccine mandate rules in the Canadian capital, an event closely tied to the American right.
“Approaching half on both sides of the border (47% in Canada, 49% in the U.S.) believe the U.S. is on its way to becoming an authoritarian state,” the polls summary notes.
“Notably, past Trump voters (60%) are more likely to hold this belief than those who voted for Biden in the 2020 presidential election (43%),” a fact which helps to understand the fervor surrounding anti-mandate protests on the right in the U.S.
The Angus Reid Institute conducted the survey online from January 27-31, polling 1,620 Canadian adults and 1,007 American adults. The poll has a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points for the Canadian sample and a 3 point margin of error for the American sample.
