OTTAWA — November 2, 2009 - Canadians are no more loving of the United States under its current leadership than during George W. Bush's presidency, suggested a poll published Monday.
But they do like President Barack Obama a whole lot more than his predecessor, said the Historica Dominion Institute survey of 1,018 Canadians.
Obama was viewed favorably by 86 percent of respondents, compared to only 21 percent for Bush in 2005.
"What's striking about these findings is how Canadians have detached their personal view of Barack Obama, whom they quite like and respect, from the United States, which they still view with skepticism, even distrust," said Andrew Cohen, president of the institute.
Compared to results of a similar poll taken four years ago, Canadians have a marginally improved view of Americans as individual people, with 71 percent expressing a favorable view in 2009 versus 68 percent in 2005.
Fewer Canadians (17 percent versus 24 percent in 1995) also said they felt Canadian and American values are diverging.
Canadians were split as to whether the United States is now "a force for good in the world." Forty-four percent agreed while 46 percent disagreed. This question was not asked in 2005.
"There really does appear to be a hardy strain of anti-Americanism in Canada," Cohen said. "Almost half of us don't believe America is a force for good in the world, even with Obama as president."
The survey has a 3.1 percentage point margin of error.
