More Canadians than ever are viewing former U.S. president Donald Trump in a favourable light.
A new poll indicates that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has growing support in Canada, especially among young Canadians.
The results of the poll, conducted by Spark Advocacy, show considerably higher support for Trump compared to similar polls conducted during the 2020 and 2016 U.S. presidential election campaigns.
The Spark poll asked Canadians, “if you were voting in the US Presidential election and the candidates on the ballot were Donald Trump and Joe Biden, which would you vote for?”
Nationally, 66% of Canadians surveyed said they would vote for Biden and 34% said they would vote for Trump.
While Biden is still preferred among Canadians, support for the Democratic nominee is down from 2020 and 2016, while support for Trump is up.
A 2020 Leger poll that asked Canadians a similar question saw 84% say they would support Biden, and just 16% say they would support Trump.
Meanwhile, polls conducted by Abacus Data and Mainstreet Research in 2016 saw 73% to 80% of Canadians say they’d vote for Hillary Clinton and just 15% to 20% say they’d vote for Trump.
Reacting to the results on X, Spark partner and chief strategy officer Bruce Anderson said the poll “shows more support for Trump than we’ve seen before, led by men, younger people and a majority of CPC voters.”
Support for Trump is highest among Conservative Party of Canada voters, with 55% of Conservative voters saying they’d vote for the 45th president.
Trump’s support is also higher among younger Canadians and men, compared to older Canadians and women.
Thirty-eight percent of Canadians 18-29 and 43% among Canadians aged 30-44 said they support Trump over Biden, while the same was true for just 23% of Canadians 60 to 69 and 17% of Canadians over the age of 70.
Trump’s support among Canadian men is 40%, and 28% among women.
Geographically, Trump is the most popular in Alberta, with 45% of Albertans saying they prefer Trump over Biden. Support for Trump in Alberta is considerably higher than in 2016, when Abacus Data found just 26% supported him in the province.
The Spark Advocacy poll also asked Canadians which candidate they think would be better in terms of “ensuring a positive relationship between the United States and Canada.”
Almost 7 in 10 Canadians said Biden would be better than Trump in that regard.
Trump has proposed imposing 10% tariffs on goods being imported into the United States, a measure that if enacted could negatively affect Canada. He has also had choice words for Canada’s Liberal government, having previously called Prime Minister Justin Trudeau a “far-left lunatic.”
“The Freedom Convoy is peacefully protesting the harsh policies of far-left lunatic Justin Trudeau, who has destroyed Canada with insane Covid mandates,” Trump said in 2022.
The Spark poll was conducted between June 14 and 21, before Biden’s debate performance on June 27, which critics say was disastrous.
According to the latest Leger US poll, Trump’s lead on Biden post-debate has gone from 2% (45-43) to 8% (50-42%), signalling trouble ahead for the 81-year-old Democratic incumbent.