Fewer Canadians see U.S. as ‘reliable’ as global confidence in Washington sags: poll

WASHINGTON — Most Canadians continue to view the United States unfavourably as global confidence in the U.S. under President Donald Trump continues to slide.

That finding comes from new polling by the Pew Research Center which also suggests Trump is receiving mostly negative ratings from countries around the world.

“We observe that Canadians hold critical views of the U.S. across nearly every measure that we’ve surveyed,” said Pew research associate Moira Fagan.

Fagan said “confidence in Trump” is “well below the international median,” while “favourable views of the U.S.” are “at or near a record low.”

The poll found only 33 per cent of Canadians viewed the United States favourably — a drop from 34 per cent in 2025 and a steep decline from the 54 per cent recorded when that question was asked in 2024.

Trump has rattled the Canada-U.S. relationship with tariffs and ongoing threats of annexation. He has continued to threaten new tariffs on Canada and has called Prime Minister Mark Carney a “governor.” Earlier this month, his administration intervened in the opening of the Gordie Howe International Bridge connecting Ontario to Michigan — a bridge Canada paid to build.

The Pew survey says only 35 per cent of Canadians polled said the U.S. is a reliable partner, down from 83 per cent from a similar poll conducted in 2022.

“Canadians, of course, being our neighbours to the north, that’s especially striking to see,” Fagan said.

She said the poll tracked sharp drops in appraisals of the United States and Trump among respondents in places with which the U.S. has long-standing economic and security ties, including Sweden, Germany, Australia and Italy.

Pew, a Washington-based non-partisan think tank, surveyed 42,151 adults across 36 countries — not including the United States — from Feb. 8 to May 13 by phone, online and in person.

It found confidence in Trump’s leadership in world affairs has dropped in most nations since last year. Pew’s report said the president got “poor marks” for his handling of foreign policy issues like tariffs, Gaza, Iran, the future of Greenland and the Russia-Ukraine war.

The study found a median of 74 per cent of people across all the countries surveyed disapproved of Trump’s handling of Iran. Only 35 per cent said the U.S. contributes to global peace and stability.

Trump’s tariffs policies are widely unpopular but they received especially poor reviews in Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, South Korea, Mexico and Germany. Only 17 per cent of Canadians said they approved of Trump’s tariffs.

Most people also disapproved of how Trump has handled international humanitarian aid. His administration largely dismantled the United States Agency for International Development and cut funding to many global programs.

Canadians in particular were offended by the aid cuts. A median of 37 per cent globally said they supported Trump’s actions on aid; only 22 per cent of Canadians said the same.

“What’s striking about these findings is that, especially with views of Trump, we see that confidence in him on the world stage has decreased over the past year,” Fagan said.

Favourable views of the United States saw double-digit drops in Indonesia, Italy, Nigeria, South Africa, South Korea and Turkey.

Trump saw his best ratings in the Philippines, Israel, Nigeria, Kenya and Ghana.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 23, 2026.

Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press