‘Punching bag for Donald Trump’: Most Canadians believe country’s global reputation has tanked, Nanos poll finds

Pollster Nik Nanos and host Michael Stittle discuss why a majority of Canadians think their country's reputation on the international stage has tanked.

As Canada has become a target of U.S. President Donald Trump, the majority of Canadians say they believe that the country’s international reputation has gotten worse, according to a new Nanos Research survey.

“Let’s face it, we’ve been a punching bag for Donald Trump on the international stage,” Nik Nanos, chief data scientist and founder of the Nanos Research Group, said in the latest podcast episode of Trend Line. “It seems like every time he has a press conference and he talks about tariffs, we’re at the top of the list. ... The numbers reflect that.”

CTV News’ official pollster said examples include Trump floating the idea of Canada becoming the 51st state and threatening tariffs.

Nanos has been tracking how Canadians feel about their country’s reputation internationally for 18 years.

His latest numbers show about two out of three Canadians think the country’s reputation has gotten worse, while only 10 per cent think it has improved in some way over the past year.

“This is the worst score on record for our international reputation, and whether it’s improved or not, in 18 years,” Nanos said. “Not good.”

Back when Justin Trudeau was first elected prime minister in 2015, only 20 per cent polled believed Canada’s reputation had worsened while 59 per cent felt the country’s image had improved in some way.

Nanos said tensions with China, India and “cordial but not optimal relations” with the United States may have hurt Canada’s global image in the eyes of Canadians.

Direction of the country

Another question in the same survey on whether Canada is moving in the right or wrong direction found that the majority of Canadians believe the country is headed in the wrong direction.

While 64 per cent of respondents didn’t agree with the direction of the country, 23 per cent felt Canada was on the right track and 13 per cent were unsure.

The perception of Canada’s direction has notably worsened through Nanos surveys over several years, from 40 per cent in 2021, 43 per cent in 2022 and 49 per cent last year.

When Trudeau was first elected prime minister 10 years ago, only 25 per cent felt the country was going the wrong way compared to 63 per cent who approved of the country’s path.

The findings come from a telephone and online random survey from Dec. 30, 2024 to Jan. 5, 2025 of 1,045 people. It’s accurate by three percentage points plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.

Ballot tracking and seat projections

Nanos Research also took the pulse of Canadians on which federal party they currently support in his weekly ballot tracking. Over the last four weeks, and after Trudeau announced on Jan. 6 that he would resign as prime minister once a new Liberal leader is chosen, the Conservatives have lost about five percentage points in ballot support. They went from 46.6 per cent ballot support to 42 per cent.

Meanwhile, the Liberals gained about four percentage points to 24.9 per cent from 21.3 per cent.

“I think a lot of that has to do with Justin Trudeau resigning and the vacancy that he has created,” Nanos said. “What happens is that when a party does not have a leader, there is nothing to repel people. ... Now, once the Liberals select a leader, then we’ll actually have the real numbers in terms of whether there’s any real bounce to make the Liberals a little more competitive with the Conservatives than they have been over the last year and a half.”

Nanos points out that “Conservatives still have a very comfortable advantage. And if they hold on to 40-42 per cent, it’s still a majority government.”

Further, the numbers are “worrisome” for New Democrats because they are behind the Liberals at 18 per cent, though their ballot support is up at 1.4 per cent, Nanos said. The numbers don’t reflect that people see the NDP as a possible alternative to the Conservatives, said Nanos.

The pollster also shared his latest top-line seat projections, which show Conservatives are still “firmly in the driver’s seat” with 164 ridings that Nanos has declared for the party if an election were to be held today. Liberals, meanwhile, would win 51 ridings, the Bloc would get 40 and the NDP would win 14.

But there are still 81 ridings that are too close to call in the projections, “which means the margin is razor thin” and there is “still room for movement,” said Nanos.

Methodology

The findings come from a random telephone survey, based on a four-week rolling average, of 1,023 Canadians aged 18 years and older. The survey ended Jan. 24, 2025. It’s accurate by 3.1 percentage points plus or minus, 19 times out of 20.

For the complete podcast, watch the video at the top of this article, or listen in the player below.