Majority of Americans Say They Oppose Donald Trump’s Threatened Tariff War Against Canada

As Canadian workers brace for devastating American tariffs on steel and aluminum, new polling suggests a majority of Americans do not support US President Donald Trump’s threats to impose tariffs on Canada.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One while flying to the Super Bowl on Sunday, Trump made a surprise announcement that he would be imposing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports on Monday. While the tariffs will apply worldwide, Canada is the top source of steel and aluminum imported by the United States.

During his remarks on Air Force One, the American President once again indulged in his fantasies of annexing Canada, at one point claiming Canada is “not viable as a country.”

Yet Trump’s views on Canada stand in contrast with the general American public in a new poll offering a snapshot of what ordinary Americans make of Trump’s threats.

According a CBS News/YouGov poll published Sunday, nearly two-thirds of Americans say they “oppose” Trump’s threat to place tariffs on goods imported from Canada.

Overall, 62% of Americans said they oppose imposing tariffs on Canada while only 38% said they were in favour.

American support for Trump’s tariffs on Canada, total results

The CBS News/YouGov poll was conducted between February 5-7, 2025 and surveyed 2,175 US adults. The poll notes a margin of error of ±2.5 points.

Digging deeper into the poll’s data show opposition to imposing tariffs on Canada is spread evenly across demographic lines including age, race, gender and education, but diverges only on ideological and partisan affiliation:

• 86% of Democrats oppose imposing tariffs on Canada, while 14% support tariffs.

• 36% of Republicans oppose imposing tariffs on Canada, while 64% support tariffs.

• 65% of Independents oppose tariffs on Canada, while 35% support tariffs.

American support for Trump’s tariffs on Canada by partisan affiliation

The data suggests Americans are skeptical of Trump’s tariff threats directed at other countries, as well.

According to the poll, 60% of Americans oppose Trump’s threatened tariffs on the European Union (40% support) while 56% of Americans oppose Trump’s threatened tariffs on Mexico (44% support).

The only country where American public opinion appears to back Trump on tariffs is China — 56% of Americans support tariffs on China while 44% oppose them.

Overall, Americans are not buying the idea that Trump’s tariffs will do anything to make their lives better at a time of unsustainable prices.

Three-quarters of Americans (73%) say they think Trump’s threatened tariffs on Canada and other countries will lead to higher prices for American consumers. Only 8% believe tariffs will lower prices while another 19% say the tariffs will have no effect whatsoever on prices.

In a statement Sunday reacting to Trump’s threatened tariffs on steel and aluminum, the Canadian Steel Producers Association said that although the “details remain unclear,” Trump’s past tariffs on the industry caused “massive disruptions and harm on both sides of the border.”

“The Canada-US economy is so highly integrated; with $20B in trade of steel between our two countries. 40% of Canada’s steel imports comes from the United States,” the steel industry lobby group said.

In a recent statement, the United Steelworkers, a union representing 225,000 unionized workers in Canada, said Trump’s earlier tariff threats would cause harm to both Canadian and American workers.

“These tariffs are reckless, unfounded, and harmful to both Canadian and American workers,” said Marty Warren, the National Director of USW Canada. “This is not about fair trade; it’s about political posturing at the expense of good-paying jobs.”

“Workers built this country, and we won’t let Donald Trump or any other billionaire-backed politician tear it down.”

USW International President David McCall also condemned Trump’s tariff threats, pointing out the way to fix trade is by focusing on countries that violate trade laws, “not sweeping actions that undermine crucial relationships.”

“The USW has long called for systemic reform of our broken trade system, but lashing out at key allies like Canada is not the way forward,” McCall said.

“Canada has proven itself time and again to be one of our strongest partners when it comes to national security and our economies are deeply integrated.”