A survey released Saturday by polling firm Leger finds that a plurality of Canadians now view the United States as an "enemy" nation, a shift attributed to President Donald Trump's repeated attacks on their economy and national sovereignty.

The poll finds that 41% of Canadians now consider the U.S. an enemy, compared with 22% who say the U.S. is an ally and 22% who describe it as a neutral country. In a similar poll conducted in June 2025, Leger noted, only 26% of Canadians said the U.S. was an enemy. The reversal is striking for two countries that share one of the world's largest bilateral trading relationships and have long cooperated on defense and border security.

Trump's trade war is a major driver of negative opinion among Canadians, with 63% of those surveyed saying they expect the president's tariffs to have either a moderate or major impact on their personal financial situations. Since returning to office, Trump has imposed tariffs on Canadian goods and threatened further measures, citing trade imbalances and border-related concerns.

Additionally, 74% of Canadians say they agree with their government's decision to retaliate against Trump's tariffs, even while acknowledging that such retaliation will hurt the economy. The Canadian government has responded with retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products, and the findings suggest the dispute has become a rare point of domestic political consensus in Canada.

Canadians are also resentful of Trump's demands that Canada become the 51st U.S. state, with 85% saying they do not want to become part of America. Trump has repeatedly referred to Canada's annexation, describing then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as a governor, remarks widely condemned across the Canadian political spectrum.

The survey finds that disdain toward the U.S. is driven almost entirely by Trump, with 64% of Canadians saying their opinions of the country would likely change if he were no longer president.

In an interview with The National Post, Leger vice president Andrew Enns emphasized the centrality of Trump in Canadians' deteriorating views of their neighbor to the south, arguing that the U.S. president "can move public opinion like nobody's business."

Brian Rathbun, professor of international relations and political science at the University of Toronto's Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, told The National Post that while Canadians aren't letting their dislike of Trump tarnish their opinions of Americans as a whole, that could change in the coming years.

"At some point, I think Canadians will start to get frustrated if this persists, even if it's not what the American public wants," said Rathbun. "They can say, 'Why is it that no one's standing up to this particular bully?' Then I think that you could get into something like a deeper problem that couldn't be fixed by kicking this guy out."