76 percent in Canada say ending US trade negotiations was right call: Survey

More than three-quarters of Canadians believe their country ending trade negotiations with the U.S. was the right call, according to a new poll .

In the Angus Reid Institute poll , 76 percent of respondents said their country was in the right “by refusing the terms being offered and ending negotiations without a trade agreement,” while 13 percent said the opposite. Eleven percent were unsure about Canada’s decision.

On Friday evening, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney removed his country’s negotiators from trade discussions with the U.S., shortly before a new round of tariffs from the Trump administration went into effect.

The Canadian prime minister then said Saturday his country would implement retaliatory tariffs on the U.S. starting Sept. 8, responding to the Trump administration’s new 50 percent duties. The American tariffs impose a 50 percent levy on more than $20 billion’s worth of goods from the U.S.’s northern neighbor, impacting products like wine and cement.

During a press conference, Carney said Ottawa would “match Washington’s new tariffs dollar for dollar in order to protect Canadian workers, farmers, families and businesses.”

President Trump on Sunday claimed Canada desires the “benefits of being a state, without being one” in a Truth Social post, referencing his previous talk of acquiring the country as the U.S.’s 51st state.

In the Angus Reid Institute poll, 6 percent said they were “very confident” in the idea “that Canada and the United States will eventually be able to reach a new trade agreement,” while 33 percent were “confident,” 48 percent were “not confident” and 14 percent were unsure about their confidence level.

The Angus Reid Institute poll took place from Aug. 22-23, featuring 1,468 Canadian adults and a margin of error of 2 percentage points.