Four in five Canadians worried over Canada-U.S. relationship in 2026: study

A new study finds the majority of Canadians feel fearful about the country’s relationship with the United States in the coming year.

A new survey has found nearly four in five Canadians have some anxiety over the year ahead as it pertains to the relationship between Canada and the United States.

The survey was conducted by the Angus Reid Institute following Prime Minister Mark Carney’s speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. It found 79 per cent of Canadians have more fear than hope about what is to come in 2026. That leaves just 21 per cent of Canadians who have an optimistic outlook about the relationship between the two countries.

The same survey also found 61 per cent of Canadians have been paying closer attention to American news than usual over the past year. This is mostly due to U.S. President Donald Trump’s return to office for a second term. Two thirds of Canadians say they would give the President an ‘F’ for his first year in office.

“The prime minister mentioned in Davos last week that the world is changing, international relations are changing, and it’s very much coming from the occupant in the White House,” says retired Cape Breton University political scientist David Johnson.

Johnson says the anxiety Canadians feel over their relationship with the U.S. is warranted as the American president continues to wage an economic war through tariffs.

Continued annexation talks and Trump’s recent actions in Venezuela are some of the reasons Canadians are unsure about the year ahead says Johnson.

There is also the conversation surrounding ICE raids which have been carried out throughout multiple states, including Maine which neighbors New Brunswick. Maine Senator Susan Collins confirmed Thursday that ICE has ended their enhanced activities in the state.

“I think a lot of New Brunswickers will breathe a sigh of relief to hear that,” says New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt, a day after making comments about New Brunswickers fears over ICE operations.

Even if ICE were to continue its enhanced operations in Maine, Johnson says it shouldn’t impact any Canadians looking to make a trip south of the border.

“ICE is dealing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” says Johnson. “They are going after people who are seeking to get into the United States illegally.”

Regardless of what is to come, many customers enjoying a drink at a local coffee shop in Saint Andrews, N.B., – which is a quick drive to the St. Stephen-Calias border crossing – say they aren’t eager to return to the United States anytime soon.

“Living on the border, regularly you were back and forth,” says Tim Stuart. “I have not been across the border since January of ‘25.”

“My daughter is in the Canadian Navy, stationed in Victoria, and some of the comments [Trump made] about not needing us on the world stage really bothers me,” says another customer.

“The only time I’ve been in the States [since Trump took office] was for transferring through on a flight,” says Brian Owens. “It was a little nerve wracking going through customs, because you never know what’s going to happen.”

“It’s concerning a lot,” Jasper Owens says. “It reflects history in a way that makes me a bit nervous to see.”

The relationship between the two countries will be in the spotlight in the weeks and months ahead with the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) trade agreement up for review this year.

For more New Brunswick news, visit our dedicated provincial page.