The events of the past few years have affected U.S.-Canadian relations, but border ties remain stronger than U.S. ties with Europe. The image of the U.S. in Canada declined slightly after the war in Iraq: from 72% before the war to 63% after the conflict, a drop of 9 points. But compared to the response of some other U.S. allies, this drop in support was relatively modest. U.S. favorability fell 20 points in France and 16 points in Germany over the same period. Similarly, five in ten Canadians (54%) still believe they should maintain close security ties and diplomatic relations with the United States. Only two in ten (23%) French and four in ten (43%) Germans agree.
But Canadians share with many people around the world frustration with U.S. foreign policy. And there is a stark difference between how Canadians and Europeans see America’s role in the world and how Americans see the same global activity. Seven in ten Canadians (70%) believe that the U.S. acts unilaterally without taking others into account when shaping international policy. This concern is also shared by the Germans, Italians, and French, and to a lesser extent by the British. But Americans have a very different point of view. Only one in four (25%) believe that the U.S. is acting unilaterally. Similarly, 68% of Canadians say that U.S. actions are widening the gap between rich and poor countries, a view shared by the French (69%) and Germans (70%). Only 39% of Americans agree. And 24% of Canadians, 37% of Britons and 51% of Italians say the U.S. does almost nothing to solve the world’s problems. Only 17% of Americans agree.
Values: similarities and differences
Canadians and Americans share a number of similar values. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65%) and Canadians (63%) believe that people determine their own success in life. Europeans do not share this sense of personal empowerment, as many agree that people have little control over their own destiny. Both Canadians (77%) and Americans (73%) believe that the government should take care of the poor. Both are much less committed to the social safety net than Western Europeans (91%).
The paths of North American neighbors diverge because of individualism. Nearly three in five Americans (58%) believe that the freedom to pursue one’s own life goals is more important than guaranteeing that no one will be needy. Only 43% of Canadians and even fewer Europeans agree.
And Canadians are much greener than Americans. Two in five Canadians (44%) believe the environment is a global threat, compared to one in five (23%) Americans. In addition, respondents in Canada say that protecting the environment should be a priority, even if it results in job losses, which Americans approve of far less.
Canadians are also more international than Americans. For example, even before the 2002 UN debate on the Iraq resolution, 28% of Canadians thought the United Nations was “very good” for their country. Only 18% of Americans agreed. In addition, almost all Canadians see world trade as good for their country (86%), while Americans are slightly more skeptical: 78% support trade. Moreover, Canadians and Western Europeans are more likely than Americans to say they like the availability of international products, the flow of popular culture across national borders, faster international communication and more trade.
Finally, Canadian social and religious values are much closer to those held by Europeans than Americans. Nearly three in five Americans (58%) say a person must believe in God to be moral. Only 30% of Canadians and 23% of Western Europeans agree. The public in Canada (69%) and Western Europe (77%) is also more accepting of homosexuality than Americans (51%). Regarding the role of women, only 26% of Canadians and 19% of Europeans say the husband should be the sole breadwinner of the family and the wife should take care of the home and children; 37% of Americans hold this traditional view.
On many of these value issues, however, geography can have as much to do with social attitudes as nationality. On a number of issues, the views of Americans living in northern border states are much closer to the values of Canadians than those of Americans living in the southern United States. For example, an overwhelming majority of Canadians (68 percent) believe that people do not need to believe in God to be moral. A majority of Americans living along the Canadian border (62%) agree. Only 38% of people living in the American South share this view. Similarly, Americans living in the northern United States have views on homosexuality that are closer to those of Canadians than those of their fellow citizens to the south.