Canadians overwhelmingly supported a trade fight with the United States, even if it cost jobs, says in-house research by the Department of Foreign Affairs. But Prime Minister Mark Carney abandoned $30 billion in retaliatory tariffs anyway.A government-commissioned poll found 72% of Canadians backed tariffs on U.S. goods, compared to just 20% of Americans who supported punishing Canadian imports. Nearly half of Canadians said they would support tariffs even if they drove up housing costs (49%) or led to job losses in their own communities (48%)..The research showed voters expected Ottawa to “not back down” and to stand up to Washington, but Carney scrapped the tariffs on Juky 22, calling them “complex.”The $162,720 taxpayer-funded survey by Nanos Research polled 3,402 Canadians and Americans. It showed Canadians four times more likely than Americans to want a tariff war, with 83% saying they supported retaliatory duties if it protected local jobs.The tariffs — set to expire September 1 — slapped a 25% charge on a wide range of American-made goods, from shoes and coffee to beer, wine, appliances and carpets.Confronted on why he folded despite strong public backing, Carney bristled. “Wait, wait, wait, I reject the premise,” he told reporters. He insisted Canada had to accept “the best of a bad deal” in trade with the U.S.
