When it comes to public confidence in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s ability to deal with U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, most Canadians don’t think Trudeau is equipped to deal with the recent tariff announcement.
Trump announced he would impose a 25% tariff on all Canadian imports once he takes office in January as punishment for the government’s lax approach to border security which has allowed criminals and drugs to flow south with little enforcement.
According to a recent Leger poll, less than one-third of Canadians (31%) are confident in the Trudeau government’s ability to manage the incoming U.S. President and his tariff policies effectively.
The survey also found that an overwhelming majority of respondents, (79%), are concerned that these tariffs will lead to higher inflation in Canada and 78% said they believe it will increase the likelihood of a recession.
While confidence in Trudeau is notably higher among Liberal voters at 67%, it takes a dramatic drop to 19% among Conservative voters.
Still, the majority of Canadians (58%) agree with Trump, that it’s time for the Trudeau government to take border security more seriously and implement the necessary measures to strengthen it.
While a smaller cohort of 29% feel that Trump’s concerns about illegal immigration and drug trafficking are unwarranted.
According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, however, the northern border has seen an unprecedented number of encounters with individuals on the terrorist watchlist, significantly surpassing those at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent years.
The data highlights that between fiscal year 2022 and Oct. 2024, 1,199 individuals on the terrorist watchlist have been apprehended attempting to cross into the United States from Canada.
Conversely, only 205 individuals were caught at the southern border during the same period.
Whether one’s concerns are for border security or tariffs, the poll revealed that the lack of confidence in Trudeau remains prevalent throughout the country, spanning every age group among both men and women and present in both urban and rural areas.
Trudeau travelled to Florida last week to attend a dinner with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort to discuss the proposed tariffs on Canadian imports.
While the trip was likely intended to reassure Canadians that they were in good hands under his leadership, the dinner turned out to be a public relations nightmare.
Trudeau told reporters before returning to Canada that the meeting was an “excellent conversation,” however, at the dinner, he told Trump that such tariffs “would kill the Canadian economy.”
Not only did Trump not budge on the tariffs, he jokingly told Trudeau that if he didn’t like his proposed tariffs on Canadian imports that the country could become the 51st US state and Trudeau could reign as its governor.
“If Canada can’t survive without ripping off the U.S. to the tune of US$100-billion a year, then maybe Canada should become the 51st state,” Trump allegedly told the prime minister.
Since then, he posted an AI-generated photo with the caption “Oh Canada!” on social media. It depicted the incoming president looking over a mountainous landscape with a Canadian flag waving behind him.
Many in the comment section said some variation of “Make Canada Great Again,” and another individual commented, “Please invade us. Please.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre responded to the debacle by saying that the country needed a leader with “brains and backbone” to negotiate with Trump.
“Canadians are paying a dreadful price for everything that Justin Trudeau has broken and we need a strong prime minister who has the brains and backbone to put Canada first and to fight for our workers and our security,” said Poilievre last week.