Polls: Trump, weak loonie leave Canadians unimpressed with U.S.

Disapproval for U.S. President Donald Trump and a weak loonie have Canadians looking down upon their southern neighbour, according to a pair of new opinion polls.

Vancouver marketing-research firm Insights West released a survey Tuesday that found 78 per cent of Canadians say the slumping loonie has had an impact on their travel plans, while the political climate in the U.S. had 31 per cent of respondents changing or thinking about changing those plans.

Meanwhile, a survey from the Pew Research Center found the U.S.’s image has greatly suffered among Canadians since Trump took office, with respondents having the lowest opinion of the U.S. since Pew began polling in Canada in 2002.

Just 43 per cent of Canadian respondents told Pew they had a favourable view of the U.S. since Trump took office, while that number ranged between 64 and 68 per cent during Barack Obama’s administration.

Trump has historically low ratings among Canadians — only 22 per cent said they had confidence in the president, down from between 76 and 88 per cent during Obama’s presidency, and even lower than George W. Bush’s 28 per cent in 2007.

Of the Canadians who said their travel plans have been impacted by the declining loonie, 59 per cent said they planned to vacation elsewhere in Canada rather than the U.S., according to Insights West.

Respondents cited Vancouver and Victoria in B.C. and Banff and Lake Louise in Alberta as among “very appealing” domestic destinations for travel, according to the survey.