Percentage of Canadians who see the U.S. as a top threat triples: poll
WASHINGTON — As U.S. President Donald Trump pursues his global trade war and talk of annexation, a new poll suggests the percentage of Canadians who view the United States as a top threat has tripled since 2019.
The survey by the Pew Research Center also suggests that 55 per cent of Canadians say the U.S. remains this country's most important ally.
The centre polled people in 25 countries and the nation most commonly cited as a critical ally was the United States.
But the U.S. was also named as the top threat in eight of those countries.
Many people in Europe cited Russia as the top threat, and those in the Asia-Pacific region commonly pointed to China.
Pew surveyed 28,333 adults outside the United States from Jan. 8 to April 26 by phone, online and in person.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2025.
Kelly Geraldine Malone, The Canadian Press
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
37 minutes ago
- CTV News
Trump comes to attorney general's defence amid uproar from his base over Jeffrey Epstein files flop
This March 28, 2017, photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein. (New York State Sex Offender Registry/AP/File via CNN Newsource) WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump leapt to the defence of Attorney General Pam Bondi on Tuesday in the face of mounting criticism from far-right influencers and conservative internet personalities over the U.S. Justice Department's abrupt refusal to release additional documents from the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation. When a reporter attempted to ask Bondi about Epstein at a White House Cabinet meeting, Trump headed off the questions and scolded the journalist: 'Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? This guy's been talked about for years.' 'At a time like this,' he added, 'where we're having some of the greatest success and also tragedy with what happened in Texas, it just seems like a desecration.' The comments appeared to signal continued job security for Bondi and amounted to a striking rebuke of members of Trump's base who have called for her resignation and mocked her for what they believe to be her failed commitment to release incriminating files from the Epstein investigation. A supposed Epstein 'client list' that Bondi once intimated was sitting on her desk for review does not exist, the Justice Department acknowledged in a two-page memo Monday that further riled conservative critics who'd been hoping for proof of a government cover-up. The pressure is on Bondi Bondi has faced pressure after a first document dump she hyped failed to deliver revelations. Far-right influencers were invited to the White House in February and provided with binders marked 'The Epstein Files: Phase 1' and 'Declassified' that contained documents that had largely already been in the public domain. After the first release fell flat, Bondi said officials were poring over a 'truckload' of previously withheld evidence she said had been handed over by the FBI and raised expectations of forthcoming releases. But after a months-long review of evidence in the government's possession, the Justice Department said in Monday's memo that no 'further disclosure would be appropriate or warranted.' The department noted that much of the material was placed under seal by a court to protect victims and 'only a fraction' of it 'would have been aired publicly had Epstein gone to trial.' The only evidence disclosed as part of the memo was a video meant to definitively prove that the wealthy financier had taken his own life in jail in 2019, but even that disclosure did little to quiet conspiracy theorists who believe he was killed. It's not a happy development for online detectives The department's client list revelation was especially dismaying for conservative influencers and online sleuths given that Bondi in a Fox News interview in February had intimated that such a document was 'sitting on my desk' for review. Bondi insisted Tuesday that she had been referring to the Epstein case file as being on her desk, as opposed to a specific client list. 'That's what I meant by that,' she said. She also defended her earlier public statements suggesting that the FBI was reviewing 'tens of thousands' of videos of Epstein with 'children or child porn.' The Associated Press published a story last week about the unanswered questions surrounding those videos and the Justice Department's refusal to provide clarity. The memo Monday did not suggest that the videos in the government's possession depicted Epstein with children, instead referring to images of Epstein as well as more than 10,000 'downloaded videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography.' 'They turned out to be child porn downloaded by that disgusting Jeffrey Epstein,' she said. But she did not explain why the department could not release other files from the 'truckload' of evidence she said was delivered to the agency months ago. Eric Tucker, The Associated Press
CBC
an hour ago
- CBC
Trump and Netanyahu set to meet again Tuesday on Gaza
U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet again on Tuesday afternoon to discuss Gaza as Trump's Middle East envoy said Israel and Hamas were closing their differences on a ceasefire deal. Trump and Netanyahu dined together on Monday at the White House during the Israeli leader's third U.S. visit since the president began his second term. Netanyahu met with Vice-President JD Vance and then visited the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. Netanyahu told reporters after a meeting with the Republican House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson that while he did not think Israel's campaign in the Palestinian enclave was done, negotiators are "certainly working" on a ceasefire. "We have still to finish the job in Gaza, release all our hostages, eliminate and destroy Hamas's military and government capabilities," Netanyahu said. Shortly after Netanyahu spoke, Trump's special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, said the issues keeping Israel and Hamas from agreeing had dropped to one from four and he hoped to reach a temporary ceasefire agreement this week. "We are hopeful that by the end of this week, we'll have an agreement that will bring us into a 60-day ceasefire. Ten live hostages will be released. Nine deceased will be released," Witkoff told reporters at a meeting of Trump's cabinet. Netanyahu's plan to return to the White House to see Trump at 4:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday pushed back his meeting with U.S. Senate leaders to Wednesday. The war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's Health Ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates.
Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
FINLAYSON: Carney government should recognize that private sector drives Canada's economy
Prime Minister Mark Carney (left) and U.S. President Donald Trump arrive for a photo during the Group of Seven (G7) Summit at the Kananaskis Country Golf Course in Kananaskis, Alta., on June 16, 2025. Photo by GEOFF ROBINS / AFP via Getty Images At the halfway point of what's shaping up to be a turbulent 2025, how is Canada's economy faring? This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account By any measure, the past six months have been a bumpy ride. The Canadian economy lost momentum over much of last year, with economic growth cooling, job creation slowing and the unemployment rate creeping higher. Then, as 2025 began, came the shock of U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs and, more recently, the outbreak of increased military conflict in the Middle East. Amid these developments, indices of global policy and business uncertainty have risen sharply. This creates a difficult backdrop for Canadian businesses and for the re-elected Liberal government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney. Economic growth in the first quarter of 2025 received a temporary boost from surging cross-border trade as companies in both Canada and the United States sought to 'front-run' the risk of tariffs by increasing purchases of manufactured and semi-finished goods and building up inventories. However, trade flows are now diminishing as higher U.S. and Canadian tariffs come into effect in some sectors and are threatened in others. Meanwhile, consumer confidence has plunged, household spending has softened, housing markets across most of Canada are in a funk and companies are pausing investments until there's greater clarity on the future of the Canada-U.S. trade relationship. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Some forecasters believe a recession will unfold over the second and third quarters of 2025, as the Canadian economy absorbs a mix of internal and external blows, before rebounding modestly in 2026. For this year, average economic growth (after inflation) is unlikely to exceed 1%, down from 1.6% in 2024. The unemployment rate is expected to tick higher over the next 12-18 months. Housing starts are on track to drop, notwithstanding a rhetorical political commitment to boost housing supply in Ottawa and several provincial capitals. And business investment is poised to decline further or, at best, remain flat, continuing the pattern seen throughout the Justin Trudeau era. Even this underwhelming forecast is premised on the assumption that ongoing trade tensions with the U.S. don't spiral out of control. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. How should Canadian policymakers respond to this unsettled economic picture? We do not face a hit to the economy remotely equivalent to that generated by the COVID pandemic in 2020-21, so there's no argument for additional deficit-financed spending by governments, particularly when public debt already has been on a tear. For the Carney government, the top priority must be to lessen uncertainty around Canada-U.S. trade and mitigate the threat of sweeping tariffs as quickly as possible. Until this is accomplished, the economic outlook will remain dire. A second priority is to improve the 'hosting conditions' for business growth in Canada after almost a decade of stagnant living standards and chronically weak private-sector investment. This will require significant reforms to current taxation, regulatory and project assessment policies aimed at making Canada a more attractive location for companies, investors and entrepreneurs. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. An important lesson of the Trudeau era is that economic prosperity cannot be built on the back of an expanding government sector, higher deficits and ever-greater political tinkering with the economy. It's time for something different. Policymakers must recognize that Canada is a largely market-based economy where the private sector, rather than government, is responsible for the bulk of production, employment, investment, innovation and exports. This insight should inform the design and delivery of economic policymaking going forward. Jock Finlayson is a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute Canada Toronto Blue Jays Canada Sunshine Girls Crime
