Canadians Support EU Membership, While Rejecting American Statehood
Strong majorities support looking overseas for new trade opportunities in the face of American belligerence
This week we learned that Mark Carney is spearheading discussions between the European Union and a number of Indo-Pacific nations to unify the two trading blocs in an effort to press the Americans on the world stage.
Unifying trade policy between nations that represent 1,500,000,000 people abroad is a challenge in and of itself, but with new polling from Research Co, we’re getting an updated look at how Canadians are viewing the current trade environment.
Want access to full articles, election models, polling deep-dives, and more?
Consider supporting Canadian content like this for as little as $5/month!
Firstly, Research Co asked whether Canadians should seriously consider enhancing trade with our European allies, and found that 77% of Canadians agree that we should do so, compared to only 13% who oppose the idea.
Research Co asked this question back in May 2025 and, at the time, found a similar share of Canadians supporting the move, while those in opposition have dropped two points since then.
While the topline remains much the same, the latest survey found that 88% of Liberals (+5 compared to the previous May survey), 77% of New Democrats (-8), and 72% of Conservatives (-3) still support the notion of expanding trade with the European Union.
It’s not just the EU that Canadians think we should expand trade with, either. That same 77% of Canadians also believe that we should expand trade with the United Kingdom, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, while a slightly smaller share (73%) believe that we should expand trade with Mexico.
With such a unified perspective among the Canadian people toward new and existing trade opportunities abroad, it’s no wonder the federal government has made trade and international relations a top priority in recent months.
There’s plenty of merit in the idea of expanding trade to grow the economy, stabilize Canada’s finances, and put more distance between ourselves and the Americans.
Though some Canadians would like to put more than a little distance between us and the Americans, many are even entertaining the idea of joining the European Union altogether, despite the EU stating that Canada would not be eligible to join under its current rules.
Nevertheless, the survey found that 48% of Canadians say they think the Canadian government should seriously consider initiating a formal process to join the European Union, while 34% oppose the idea.
For context, Research Co’s previous May survey found 46% of Canadians supporting the idea of joining the EU, while 38% opposed it. That is to say the numbers are well within the margin of error, but they solidify the idea that Canadians remain very much open to the prospect of joining the EU.
Liberals and New Democrats are the most likely to support EU membership, at 56% each, while Conservatives are less likely at 44%. Perhaps interestingly, while Conservatives would be expected to be the least likely to support joining the EU, they’re only slightly underwater, with a narrow 45% opposing the move.
While 48% say they’d support joining the EU, the share of Canadians who say the same about joining the United States as a U.S. state couldn’t be much lower. Overall, only 20% of Canadians say they think Canada should seriously consider starting the process to become an American state, while an overwhelming 71% oppose the idea.
Conservatives are the most likely to say they’d support the process of Canada becoming a U.S. state, with 34% agreeing, even though 62% of Conservatives oppose the idea of integrating into the borders of our southern neighbours. New Democrats and Liberals are even more opposed, at 75% and 80%, respectively.
Even Albertans are opposed to the idea of joining the United States, which is just another stick in the spokes of the upstart separatist movement out west. The survey found that 24% of Albertans would support starting the process of joining the U.S., while 68% oppose the move.
Those results are not much different from other Canadian provinces and regions, with a similar share of Ontarians and Atlantic Canadians saying they’d support initiating the process of joining the U.S.
In the end, Canadians support expanding trade elsewhere, are open to entertaining the idea of European Union membership, and are outright rejecting American statehood. To say that Canada is in a unique position in the 2020s is putting it mildly.
Enjoyed reading this piece? Take a look at recent pieces below!