Aaron Miller-
Americans have more faith in Canadians than they do in themselves, a new poll has revealed. COVID-19 has damaged the trust Canadians have in their American neighbours, while U.S. residents have more faith in their northern counterparts than they do in themselves.
The poll from Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies concluded that only 34 per cent of respondents expressed trust in Americans, in comparison with 58 per cent from a similar survey in November of last year. The survey does not explain why Americans trusts Canadians more than they trust themselves, but is believed to be based on the high number of Covid-19 cases in America compared with Canada and their perception of them compared to their views of fellow Americans.
Of the U.S residents surveyed, 72.5 % said they trusted Canadians, compared with 70 per cent who expressed trust in their fellow citizens. An estimated 66 per cent of Canadian residents who participated in the survey said they are worried about COVID-19 cases arriving in Canada from the U.S, while only 19 per cent of U.S. respondents felt the same way about the novel coronavirus travelling south.
The finding poll also found 34 per cent of Americans surveyed would be comfortable taking a vacation in Canada once travel restrictions are lifted, compared with 19 per cent of Canadians asked about visiting America.
Exports of goods in Canada slumped by 4.7 % in March from February, influenced by plunging oil prices and disruptions to auto-sector supply chains, while imports fell 3.5 per cent. As a result, the merchandise trade deficit swelled to $1.4-billion in March from $894-million in February.
And even those numbers were flattered by a slumping Canadian dollar, which served to elevate the price of both imports and exports when converted into Canadian currency. Statscan said that when calculated in U.S.-dollar terms, goods exports were down 9.1 per cent and imports were down 8.1%. America has suffered more Covid-19 victims than Canadians.