About a third of Canadians believe the US would try to attack Canada: poll – National
After the recent US military intervention in Venezuela, a new poll suggests that almost a third of Canadians say the United States may try “direct action” to control Canada.
It suggests that one in five Americans think the same.
The survey, conducted online and cannot be given a margin of error, polled 1,540 Canadians between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11.
The survey suggests that many Canadians believe the US will try to control other countries in the future, including Greenland, Cuba, Colombia, Panama, Iran and Canada.
When asked to estimate the likelihood of a US attempt to take direct action to control various countries in the future, 31 percent of Canadian respondents said it was likely that the United States would try to take direct action to take over Canada.
Another 55 percent said such an action would be possible in Greenland, 51 percent said the US would probably intervene in Cuba, 47 percent said they would follow Colombia, 47 percent cited Panama and 36 percent predicted American intervention in Iran.
The survey, which also surveyed 1,011 American respondents, also suggests that 20 percent of Americans think that the US government may try to take direct measures to control Canada in the future.
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More than half of Canadians polled think the US intervention in Venezuela violated the country’s sovereignty and set a bad precedent.
Asked if they agreed with certain statements, 53 percent of Canadian respondents said they felt that the US intervention was “ultimately a bad thing because it is a serious violation of national sovereignty and sets a bad example for other countries to do the same. The international order is threatened.”
The survey reports that another 23 percent of Canadian respondents said the US intervention “was ultimately a good thing as (Venezuelan President Nicolas) Maduro was a corrupt dictator and his government was oppressing ordinary Venezuelans. With him gone there is an opportunity for a better government.”
The survey suggests that nearly two-thirds of Canadians follow developments involving the US and Venezuela closely, while 35 percent do not.
Andrew Enns, Leger’s senior vice-president in Central Canada, told The Canadian Press that the older generation is the one most “caught” in the situation.
The survey suggests that 77 per cent of Canadians aged 55 and over follow the development closely, compared to 55 per cent of people aged 35 to 54 and 60 per cent of people aged 18 to 34.
“It keeps that patriotic and ‘defending Canada’ energy burning hot, which I think is helpful for the prime minister and his government at this time,” Enns said.
A majority of Canadians – 56 per cent – say the US military’s operation in Venezuela has made their opinion of the US government worse.
Nine percent of Canadian respondents said their opinion of government had improved, while 21 percent said their opinion had not changed.
Enns said that in the current climate, Canadians’ views of the American government are “not very high to begin with” so “it doesn’t take much.”
The survey suggests that 37 percent of US respondents report that military action improves their opinion of their government, while 20 percent say it improves their opinion and 27 percent say their opinion of the government has not changed.
Less than 40 percent of American respondents said the US intervention was a bad thing because it violated Venezuela’s sovereignty, while 35 percent said it was a good thing.
The survey suggests that nearly two-thirds of Canadians believe the US intervened primarily to control Venezuela’s oil reserves, while 13 percent said it should have brought Maduro to justice and 7 percent said it was to restore democracy to Venezuela.
“Exciting times for Canadians. They’re not sure what to expect,” Enns said.
The polling industry’s trade association, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be given a margin of error because they do not sample the population randomly.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
