Every week during this tumultuous period, we conduct a survey of Canadians and Americans to explore their views on the economy and their finances.
Compared with last week, results remain fairly stable. Some of the key highlights of our survey…
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The majority of Canadians (82%) are concerned that President Trump may use measures such as tariffs and trade sanctions to push Canada into a closer and more formal economic relationship with the United States. In response, 70% support a policy where the Government of Canada matches any tariffs imposed by the U.S. on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Support is higher among liberal voters (89%).
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On the other hand, less than one-third (31%) of Americans are in favour of Trump’s administration imposing tariffs on products imported from Canada, and half (51%) think that it will negatively impact the U.S. economy. One-third of Americans (34%) are in favour of imposing tariffs on Mexico, a 5-point decrease since last week.
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Two-thirds of Canadians have reduced their purchases of American products, both in stores (67%) and online (63%). Additionally, 70% report increasing their purchases of Canadian-made goods.
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More than eight out of ten Canadians (81%) believe consumer prices have increased in the past few weeks. This represents a 3-point decrease since last week.
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Canadians have mixed views on the U.S.: 30% see it as an enemy, 31% as an ally, and another 24% as a neutral nation. Conservative voters are more likely to think that the U.S. is an ally (49%). Meanwhile, a majority of Americans (60%) consider Canada an ally.
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Two-thirds of Canadians consider their household finances in good shape (66%), with 10% rating them as very good and 56% as good. In contrast, 53% of Americans consider their finances to be good.
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39% of currently employed Canadians fear losing their job within the next 12 months. This proportion rise to 45% in the United States.
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Moreover, 44% of Canadians report living paycheque to paycheque. The proportion of Americans saying they are living paycheque to paycheque is still much higher, with 57% of respondents saying they do.
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Half of Canadians (54%) believe the country is in an economic recession, a 1-point increase since last week. This proportion is similar in the United States (52%).
Methodology
This web survey on the economy was conducted from February 28 to March 2, 2025, with 1,548 Canadians and 1,002 U.S. residents, 18 years of age or older, randomly recruited from LEO’s online panel.
A margin of error cannot be associated with a non-probability sample in a panel survey. For comparison purposes, a probability sample of this size yields a margin of error no greater than ±2.50%, (19 times out of 20) for the Canadian sample and ±3.10%, (19 times out of 20) for the American sample.
