A recent survey conducted by polling company YouGov has found that American attitudes towards Canada, particularly attitudes of Republican-voting Americans, have shifted significantly amid the ongoing trade war between the two countries.The most striking finding in the poll is the sharp increase in Republicans who now say they view Canada as an unfriendly or enemy country.A total of 38% of Republicans polled say they believe that Canada should be considered an unfriendly or enemy country, an almost doubling of the number seen on a previous poll asking the same question.This number has shot up in direct correlation to the increased polarization of trade talks between Canada and the United States.The same poll found that only 8% of those who identified as Democrats felt the same way, highlighting this partisan divide.Among all Americans, only 3% said they viewed Canada as an "enemy," but the number of Americans who now view Canada as "unfriendly" has close to doubled, sitting at 19%.The number who view Canada as an "ally" has also dropped significantly, going from 46% in February to 39% in August.The number has historically hovered around the low to mid 50s..When asked about which country they thought would "be hurt more by a trade war," 41% of Americans said they thought the US would be hurt more compared with 33% who thought Canada would be worse off.YouGov also asked respondents what they thought about President Donald Trump's decision to change the name of Lake Ontario to 'Lake America.'Among all Americans, 68% said they disagreed with the name change, while just 17% said they supported it.The numbers also point out that the name change, in addition to not being well received nationally, was also not popular among the president's own party.According to the poll, just 37% of Republicans stated they support the name change, contrasted with 41% who said they disagreed with it.Even amongst self-identified 'MAGA Republicans," support for the name change only stood at 47%.The poll highlights not only the partisan divide between Republicans and Democrats over the trade war with Canada but also the fact that there is a sizeable base of Trump's own party who negatively view the antics of his administration towards Canada.However, the poll also shows that the trade war has significantly altered how a large number of Americans view Canada, with the people of the once close nations growing increasingly suspicious and angry at those on the other side of the border.
