Almost half of Canadians are likely to boycott Trump products

AS the sons of the President of the United States arrive in Vancouver for the opening of a new hotel and tower, a large proportion of Canadians say they are likely to boycott products and venues that bear the “Trump” brand, a new nationwide Insights West poll has found.

In the online survey of a representative sample of Canadians, almost half (45%) say they are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to boycott a hotel, restaurant or store located in a “Trump” branded property—including almost two thirds (65%) of British Columbians.

Two-in-five Canadians (41%) are likely to boycott a store that sells “Trump” brand products. About a third of Canadians (32%) would cancel a trip to the United States because of Donald Trump’s presidency, 28% would avoid purchasing goods originating from the United States, if a non-American alternative is available, and one-in-five (21%) would avoid American restaurant franchises in Canada.

“Canadians are starting to express their displeasure with the political situation in the United States with their wallets,” says Mario Canseco, Vice President, Public Affairs at Insights West. “There are sizeable proportions of residents who will avoid the Trump brand, and smaller groups of Canadians who are ready to shun American products.”

Across the country, three-in-four Canadians (76%) say they have an unfavourable opinion of Donald Trump—including 84% of those aged 18-to-34 and 90% of British Columbians.

The level of animosity towards Trump subsides among three groups. Two-in-five Canadians who voted for the Conservative Party in the 2015 federal election (40%), three-in-ten men (29%) and one-in-four Ontarians (26%) hold favourable views on the 45th American President.

Most Canadians (51%) have an unfavourable opinion of U.S. Vice President Mike Pence. Conversely, three-in-five (60%) hold favourable views on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Canadians are connected to the situation unfolding in the United States, with 83% saying they have been following news related to American politics “very closely” or “somewhat closely.”

In addition, Canadians are spending more time discussing American politics with their family, friends and co-workers (73%) than Canadian politics (67%). Roughly the same proportions of Canadians are seeing, reading or hearing media stories about American politics (72%) and Canadian politics (69%).

When it comes to social media engagement, 38% of Canadians say they have posted, forwarded or commented on Donald Trump—a proportion that falls slightly for Justin Trudeau (35%) but drops considerably for provincial premiers (28%).

Almost three-in-four Canadians (73%) are concerned about the fact that Donald Trump is now the President of the United States. This is a lower proportion than what was observed at the end of the U.S. campaign tracking conducted by Insights West last year, when 81% of Canadians expressed concerns at the possibility of a Trump presidency.

Most Canadians (53%) have “complete confidence” or “some confidence” in Prime Minister Trudeau to stand up to Trump.

 

Results are based on an online study conducted from February 23 to 25 among a representative sample of 1,001 Canadian adults. The data has been statistically weighted according to Canadian census figures for age, gender and region. The margin of error is +/- 3.1 percentage points