A majority of Canadians still see the United States as their country's closest ally, even in an age of American protectionism, a new poll suggests -- but with President Joe Biden poised to deliver his vision for the next two years, they seem less certain that their powerful neighbour is a force for good in the world.
Nearly 70 per cent of respondents to the online survey, conducted by Leger for the Association for Canadian Studies, said they still see the U.S. as Canada's best friend, while 16 per cent said they disagreed and 15 per cent said they didn't know.
Those surveyed were much more divided, however, on the question of whether the U.S. is a positive influence on international affairs: 41 per cent disagreed with that statement, compared with 38 per cent who said they believe it's true. Twenty-one per cent abstained.
Tuesday night, Biden will deliver his second state of the union speech since being sworn in as president in 2021 -- and many in Canada are hoping to hear a softer, more conciliatory tone on the protectionist rhetoric that marked his first two years in the White House.
But with the speech expected to serve as a soft launch of sorts for the 2024 presidential race, they may be disappointed.
"The president will announce in the state of the union that he is issuing proposed guidance to ensure construction materials from copper and aluminum to fibre optic cable, lumber and drywall are made in America," the White House said in a statement.
The so-called "Buy America" laws that have been on the books for decades in the U.S. focus mainly on iron and steel for federally funded projects -- a "giant loophole" the Biden administration is determined to close, "once and for all, so materials … are made in America and support American jobs."
The rules would extend beyond roads and bridges to include buildings, water systems and high-speed internet, "providing consistency for companies and state and local governments to apply the standards and a strong federal government-wide demand signal."
A separate law, the Buy American Act, will soon require that 75 per cent of component parts for projects procured by the federal government be made in the U.S., up from the original threshold of 55 per cent.
With all eyes again shifting toward the coming race for the White House, Biden's protectionist rhetoric is likely aimed mostly at winning over a domestic political audience, and most observers agree that it's not Canada but Beijing that the U.S. has in its sights.
And with the country up in arms over what Chinese officials insist was a weather balloon that drifted through Canadian and U.S. airspace last week, downed over the weekend by U.S. jet fighters, the president has ample reason to argue for economic decoupling from China.
But it would be a mistake to assume that the U.S. will automatically turn to Canada for its energy, raw materials and manufactured goods, said Flavio Volpe, president of Canada's Auto Parts Manufacturers Association.
"Canada will do well to not assume that we are inside the tent. We will have to prove and reprove ourselves on many points we take for granted," Volpe said.
"Look for transactional language to begin dominating our relationship rather than ideology. Shared values matter, but sharing value matters more."
The president has been moving off the "inward focus" that marked the first two years of his presidency, said Louise Blais, a retired Canadian envoy who now serves as a senior adviser to the Business Council of Canada and as diplomat-in-residence at Laval University in Quebec.
"Starting this year, actually, there's been a real shift in the narrative that he has been using when he casts the issues related to economic security and supply chains," Blais said.
"After two tough years we're now starting to see a different approach -- at least rhetorically. He is talking about the importance of working with America's continental allies."
Recent polls suggest that whatever success Biden has had pulling the U.S. economy out of the post-pandemic morass, it hasn't been registering with ordinary Americans.
A new poll released Monday by ABC News and the Washington Post found that 62 per cent of those surveyed believed Biden accomplished "not very much" or "little or nothing" during the first half of his term, compared with 36 per cent who feel the opposite.
That's despite a number of signature wins, including infrastructure spending worth $1.2 trillion, the comprehensive health, tax and climate change spending package known as the Inflation Reduction Act and billions on building up domestic manufacturing.
Fresh jobs numbers reported Friday also painted a different picture: the economy added a remarkable 517,000 jobs last month alone, bringing the country's unemployment rate down to just 3.4 per cent.
Brian Deese, Biden's outgoing director of the National Economic Council, acknowledged Monday that the full impact of the administration's efforts has yet to be fully felt, in part because of Biden's focus on engineering a more equitable "bottom-up" and "middle-out" recovery.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen was among those dispatched by the White House to sing the praises of Biden's economic plan in advance of the president's speech.
"We're investing in America again. Factories are opening all across America, and not just on the coast, but throughout the country in areas that haven't seen the investment that they need," Yellen said Monday during an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America."
A recession in the U.S. seems unlikely given the strong jobs numbers reported for January, the lowest unemployment rate in 53 years and inflation that continues to decline, she said.
One of the only wild cards would be if Republicans on Capitol Hill, led by newly elected Speaker Kevin McCarthy, make good on a lingering threat to send the U.S. into default by refusing to increase the debt ceiling, she added.
"America has paid all of its bills on time since 1789, and not to do so would produce an economic and financial catastrophe," Yellen said.
"It's something that simply can't be negotiable, and while sometimes we've gone up to the wire, it's something that Congress has always recognized their responsibility (and) needs to do again."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 7, 2023.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
U.S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced updates on a number of cross-border issues, after a day of meetings on Parliament Hill.
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country. Advocates say the popularity of the proposal shows politicians that Canadians want the government to affirm its welcoming position.
The Public Order Emergency Commission has concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests and blockades.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
The only thing most Canadians will remember about the budget this time next week is how the booze tax increase was reduced to two per cent from six, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
Joe Biden comes for a sleepover next week to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
After weeks of refusing to look further into foreign election interference, Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense pressure and appointed a 'special rapporteur' to review China's actions. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin writes this 'startling change of heart' suggests the PMO is in panic mode and reflects badly on the prime minister's decision making.
The Trudeau tipping point is within sight. The moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows he has to quit for the good of the party or the Liberals realize they can't survive re-election with him at the helm is almost upon us, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Bombshell revelations that suggest Chinese agents actively, fraudulently and successfully manipulated Canada's electoral integrity in the last two federal elections cannot be dismissed with the standard Justin Trudeau nothing-to-see-here shrug, Don Martin writes in his exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
A long list of failures by Nova Scotia RCMP leadership and policing systems dominate the final report into Nova Scotia's April 2020 mass shooting.
When it comes to election misinformation on social media, Facebook takes the cake, according to a new study which found heavy Facebook users were far more likely to consume fake news than Twitter or other social media sites.
Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn't at fault for the crash.
This Sunday, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will announce the four astronauts that will be blasting off to fly around the moon for the Artemis II mission, one of whom will be a Canadian astronaut.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
A candidate for the United Conservative Party in southern Alberta has resigned after she posted a video claiming children are being exposed to pornography in schools.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
Four of the Vancouver police officers involved in the violent 2015 arrest of Myles Gray – which ended with the 33-year-old dying in handcuffs – claim they were directed by their union not to keep notes about what happened, in violation of department policy.
A proposed class-action lawsuit over infamous brainwashing experiments at a Montreal psychiatric hospital was before Quebec's highest court Thursday, as victims attempted to remove immunity granted to the United States government.
A long list of failures by Nova Scotia RCMP leadership and policing systems dominate the final report into Nova Scotia's April 2020 mass shooting.
Two-and-a-half years after it was established, Nova Scotia’s Mass Casualty Commission has recommended sweeping changes to everything from gun control to mental health services, although there’s no guarantee any will ever be implemented.
A 22-year-old accused of fatally stabbing a teenager at Keele Station over the weekend was released on a probation order just weeks earlier, tied to a sexual assault charge, court documents show.
Turkiye's parliament on Thursday ratified Finland's application to join NATO, lifting the last hurdle in the way of the Nordic country's long-delayed accession into the Western military alliance.
Every day, hundreds of people are taken into law enforcement custody in New York City. Former President Donald Trump is expected to become one of them next week.
As Taiwan's diplomatic partners dwindle and turn instead to rival China, Taiwanese President President Tsai Ing-wen is aiming to shore up ties with the self-governing island's remaining allies during a trip this week to Central America.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
A new government study highlights just how violent America's recent past has been by showing a surge in gunfire injuries during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the number of people fatally shooting each other -- and themselves -- also increased.
Nashville authorities released 911 calls Thursday that capture the terror inside an elementary school during the attack this week that left three children and three adults dead.
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
Gun policy comments made by then-RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki in a contentious call to Nova Scotia RCMP officers after the mass shooting in 2020 did not amount to political interference, the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) final report concludes.
A private member's bill that would create specific carve-outs for farmers in Canada's carbon pricing scheme has passed in the House of Commons.
The federal government now expects far more Canadians with long-overdue dental needs to sign up for its insurance plan, and the health minister says that's why the estimated cost has risen by $7 billion.
The B.C. government's bid to restrict the sale of diabetes drug Ozempic to prevent non-Canadian residents draining supplies was the right move and a long time coming, says Brett Skinner, founder and CEO of the Canadian Health Policy Institute.
When the doors close at night at the administration office at Yukon's Carcross Tagish First Nation, a van hits the road and drives through the communities to offer naloxone to reverse overdoses, drug testing kits, food and even a friendly face to help those struggling because of the opioid crisis.
New research suggests the classic image of a Tyrannosaurus rex with massive, sharp teeth might be wrong. A study in the journal Science suggests the teeth on a T. rex was likely covered by scaly lips and didn't stick out when its mouth was closed.
An ultramassive black hole, understood to be one of the largest ever detected, has been discovered by astronomers using a new technique.
When it comes to election misinformation on social media, Facebook takes the cake, according to a new study which found heavy Facebook users were far more likely to consume fake news than Twitter or other social media sites.
Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn't at fault for the crash.
When two skiers collided on a beginner run at an upscale Utah ski resort in 2016, no one could foresee that seven years later, the crash would become the subject of a closely watched celebrity trial.
Camila Cabello credits the strong women in her life for her success as an artist and a person. So it was only natural that she was there to celebrate her grandmother's milestone -- the publication of a novel.
Just a week after Airbnb tightened regulations for Quebec listings following a deadly fire, hosts may already be bending the rules. Airbnb now requires its hosts to provide a six-digit policy number with their listing, obtained when a tourist lodging is registered with the provincial government. But a scroll through the Airbnb website suggests users are falsifying their permit numbers to sneak past the authentication process.
The European Union must be prepared to develop measures to protect trade and investment that China might exploit for its own security and military purposes, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen warned on Thursday.
For nearly a year, the average used vehicle in the United States had been edging toward affordable again for millions of people. Now, with the supply of used vehicles failing to keep up with robust demand, prices are creeping up again, with signs pointing to further increases ahead.
A scientist at CAMH says video games have similar addictive features to gambling which cause social isolation of the individual and dependency on the activity.
Researchers believe the availability of non-alcoholic drinks can help to combat drinking problems.
On March 30, 1923, exactly 100 years ago, the world's first continuous passenger cruise ship arrived back in New York City after completing a 130-day voyage.
Marcus Stroman committed baseball's first regular-season pitch-clock violation in the third inning of the Chicago Cubs' 4-0 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday on opening day.
Tiger Woods returns to the Masters, no longer a surprise as it was a year ago but no less a rare appearance. This will be only his third tournament against elite competition since he remarkably hobbled his way through 72 holes at Augusta National.
Ryan Reynolds spent the day in Ottawa as he continues his efforts to buy the Senators, meeting with officials from the city of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission and attending the Senators game.
For nearly a year, the average used vehicle in the United States had been edging toward affordable again for millions of people. Now, with the supply of used vehicles failing to keep up with robust demand, prices are creeping up again, with signs pointing to further increases ahead.
Closing out a half century of purely gasoline-powered V12 cars going back to the brand's earliest models, Luxury Italian sports car designer Lamborghini has unveiled its first supercar with a charging port.
After claiming his 100th podium in Saudi Arabia in confusing and controversial circumstances, Fernando Alonso is looking for a better result at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix than his two third-place finishes so far this Formula One season.
