spark*insights

Canadians want to protect Canadian workers by joining the US & Mexico in the fight against Chinese dumping of steel, aluminum and EV’s.

79% of Canadians support joining with the US and Mexico with tariffs on Chinese products

Aug 19, 2024
Bruce Anderson

spark*insights conducted a national survey, commissioned by Canada’s steel and aluminum industries, among 1,815 adult Canadians, online, between the dates August 3rd-7th, 2024. The highlights of the findings are below.

  • While just over a third (36%) think Canada “should be looking to expand our relationship with China and assume the Chinese will deal fairly with Canada and respect our national interests while pursuing their own”, most people (64%) feel differently, agreeing with the counter argument “China cannot be trusted to deal fairly with trading partners, and we should take measures to protect our economy from unfair Chinese trade practices”. Voters who support all major political parties see this the same way.
 
 
  • When informed about Chinese government subsidized steel, aluminum and electric vehicles coming into North America, three out of four (76%) supported the decision by Mexico and the US to impose tariffs on the Chinese imports.
 
 
  • About 8 in 10 (79%) believe Canada should follow the approach taken by our CUSMA trading partners and impose tariffs as well. Again, this support is high across party lines.
 
 
  • Only 17% of those who favour tariffs against Chinese steel, aluminum and EV’s would change their view if China threatened to retaliate against Canadian products. Among those who were initially against the idea of putting tariffs on the Chinese products, 31% would change their mind if it appeared that the US and Mexico would put barriers up to Canadian imports to protect their workers. The net effect of testing both counter arguments leaves a 73% majority of Canadians preferring to align our policies with those of the US and Mexico.
 
 
  • We explored the argument that consumers could benefit from cheaper Chinese electric vehicles, if we did not impose tariffs. Two thirds (68%) rejected this argument, agreeing instead that “Canada should prevent cheaper Chinese vehicles from coming into our market because they are subsidized by the Chinese government and will undermine our economy and cost Canadian workers their jobs”.
 
 
  • A variety of arguments in favour of tariffs were tested, all found large majorities feeling the arguments had merit. The most potent was the need to protect Canadian workers, followed by the idea that we should pursue freer trade but only with countries willing to play by rules, and that China is not willing to do so.
 
 
  • Finally, exploring surrounding opinion found a very large majority of the view that around the world more countries need to take steps that mitigate Chinese efforts to undermine their economies. This is the prevailing instinct, even though a majority also agree that the Chinese trading relationship is very important to the Canadian economy.
 
 

Takeaway

Bruce Anderson: “Canadians know the Chinese trade relationship is important for our exports. But they have come to believe that China cannot be relied upon to trade fairly, that our workers will be in jeopardy unless we guard against subsidized, dumped products, and that we must remain firm in our commitment to the North American trading pact which is vital to our economy overall and to our strength in the automotive sector. This is not a trade fight Canadians are looking for, but it is one most people seem willing to fight.”

About spark*insights

spark*insights is led by Bruce Anderson, one of Canada’s leading and most experienced public opinion researchers, along with Alex Kohut, former Senior Manager of Research & Advertising in the Office of the Prime Minister. From polling and research to analysis and guidance, we help organizations, uncover the factors driving or influencing public perception to gain valuable insights into the shape and movement of the landscape.

Interested in more, or how we can help? Reach out:


Bruce Anderson

bruce@sparkadvocacy.ca

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