67% of Canadians think Donald Trump presidency would be bad for Canada: poll

The thought of Donald Trump becoming the next U.S. president has many Canadians worried, according to a new poll.

Prior to Monday’s Iowa caucuses, a poll by Insights West suggested that more than two-thirds of Canadians think a Trump presidency would be “bad” for Canada.

The results of the poll, which surveyed 1,002 Canadians, revealed 67 per cent of respondents believe Trump as president would be “bad” for Canada, including 49 per cent who thought the businessman would be “very bad” for the Great White North.

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But not everyone agreed: the results showed 20 per cent of Canadians think President Trump would be “very good” or “good” for Canada.

“Republican presidential candidates usually fare well with Canada’s Conservative voters, but Trump continues to be perceived negatively,” said Mario Canseco of Insights West in a press release “In fact, Trump is regarded as a bad choice for Canada by 57 per cent of those who voted for the Tories in last year’s Canadian federal election.”

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The poll indicated that 80 per cent of Liberal voters feel Trump is bad for Canada, and 78 per cent of NDP voters also agree.

When it comes to Ted Cruz, who beat Trump in Iowa on Monday, only 21 per cent of Canadians think the Republican Senator would be “good” for Canada as U.S. president. Furthermore, despite the controversy surrounding Cruz’s birthplace of Calgary, 26 per cent of the poll respondents don’t know who Cruz is.

Looking at the Democratic Party, more than half of Canadians surveyed feel former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton as president would be “very good” or “good” for Canada.

Some Canadians are Feeling the Bern, as 31 per cent think Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who lost by a thin margin to Clinton in Iowa, would be “good” for Canada as U.S. president.

Results are based on an online study conducted from January 24 to January 26, 2016, among a representative sample of 1,002 Canadian adults. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error—which measures sample variability—is +/- 3.1 percentage points.