Americans trust Canadians more than they trust themselves, poll suggests

A new online poll suggests COVID-19 has damaged the trust Canadians have in their American neighbours, while U.S. residents have more faith in their northern counterparts than they do in themselves. The poll from Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies finds only 34 per cent of respondents expressed trust in Americans, compared with 58 per cent from a similar survey in November of last year.

Of those living in the U.S., 72.5 per cent said they trusted Canadians, compared with 70 per cent who expressed trust in their fellow citizens.

Some 66 per cent of Canadian residents who participated said they are worried about COVID-19 cases arriving in Canada from the U.S., while only 19 per cent of U.S. respondents felt the same way about the novel coronavirus travelling south.

The poll also found 34 per cent of Americans surveyed would be comfortable taking a vacation in Canada once travel restrictions are lifted, compared with 19 per cent of Canadians asked about heading south of the border.

The online research, conducted April 24-26, surveyed 1,515 Canadians and 1,012 Americans. Since online polls do not carry a margin of error, they are not considered representative of the population at large.