Majority of Canadians favour putting U.S. missiles on Canadian soil: poll

As U.S. President Joe Biden arrives in Canada for his first official visit since taking office, a new poll finds a majority of Canadians favour greater military cooperation between the two countries.

A Maru Public Opinion poll done for GZERO Media finds 93 per cent of Canadians say boosting security and intelligence efforts to stop foreign powers from undermining democracy should be a top priority.

With the war in Ukraine, and the Chinese and North Koreans flexing their military muscle, two-thirds of Canadians support having U.S. missiles on Canadian soil in the far North, while 83 per cent of those asked would also support a common missile defence program between the two countries to protect against an attack on North America.

Biden’s visit comes as one-third of Canadians believe the relationship between Canada and the United States has actually gotten worse in the post-Donald Trump era. Forty-seven per cent say the relationship has remained the same. Among Americans, one in six say the relationship has gotten worse while 58 per cent say there’s been no change.

The poll was conducted in both Canada and the United States from March 17-20 among a random sampling of 1,567 Canadians and 1,558 Americans. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20.