WASHINGTON — The share of Canadians who view the United States favourably has dropped 20 percentage points since last year.
That finding comes from new polling by the Pew Research Center that also suggests U.S. President Donald Trump is receiving mostly negative ratings from countries around the world.
The poll found only 34 per cent of Canadians viewed the United States favourably — a steep decline from the 54 per cent recorded in 2024.
The centre conducted surveys in 24 nations and more than half of those polled in most countries said they lacked confidence in Trump's leadership in world affairs.
When asked about Trump's personal characteristics, most described him as arrogant and dangerous. Relatively few saw him as honest.
Trump has sent shockwaves around the world with his global trade war and talk of American imperialism. He has floated taking over Greenland and making Canada a U.S. state.
Trump has repeatedly complained about historic allies and overturned America's stance on Russia's war in Ukraine. Trump has repeatedly touted a longstanding relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his confrontational Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was watched with alarm around the world.
The Pew Research Center found the majority of people polled in most countries expressed little or no confidence in Trump's ability to handle specific issues like immigration, the Russia-Ukraine war, conflicts between Israel and its neighbours and climate change.
They also said they had little or no confidence in Trump's ability to handle U.S.-China relations and global economic problems.
Pew, a Washington-based non-partisan think tank, surveyed 28,333 adults across 24 countries — not including the United States — from Jan. 8 to April 26 by phone, online and in person.
The centre noted that most of the survey was conducted after the meeting between Trump and Zelenskyy on Feb. 28 and before Trump took his trade war to the world with "reciprocal" tariffs on April 2.
Ratings of the United States have dropped significantly in 15 countries since last year. One of the largest decreases was reported in Mexico — 29 per cent of Mexicans told Pew they had a favourable view of the U.S., down substantially from the 61 per cent recorded in 2024.
More than six in 10 adults viewed the U.S. negatively in Canada and Mexico, as did majorities in Australia, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey.
Half or more of the people surveyed in five countries — Israel, Nigeria, Hungary, India and Kenya — expressed confidence in Trump’s handling of world affairs.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 11, 2025.
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
