Half of Canadians More Optimistic about Trade Deal Following U.S. Midterms

On the heels of an historic U.S. midterm election that saw Donald Trump’s Republicans lose control of both houses of Congress and the governorship of key states, one half (49%) of Canadians agree that they’re more optimistic that the U.S. will sign a new trade deal that will be good for Canada, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted for Global News. Moreover, 44% agree that the midterm results make them more optimistic that we will go back to the relationship we had with the U.S. prior to President Trump’s election. 

Despite the newfound optimism of many, a majority continue to believe that current economic disputes with the U.S. will not be resolved anytime soon, although this sentiment has eased since September, 2025. In light of this long-term view, a slim majority (53%) favour delaying a new trade agreement until after Trump leaves office. Albertans (62%) and British Columbians (59%) are more likely to support delaying a trade deal until Trump leaves office.   

The Blue Wave that swept across the United States last week has not reversed the feeling that Canada can never trust the Americans the same way again, a sentiment which is holding steady at 55%, down just 1 point since before the election. Moreover, most remain skeptical that Prime Minister Carney will succeed in making a new trade deal with Donald Trump and the United States, with only 39% believing that a trade deal will happen (up 4 points).  
 
 

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted between November 10 and 12, 2026, on behalf of Global News. For this survey, a sample of 1,002 Canadians aged 18+ was interviewed online. Quotas and weighting were employed to ensure that the sample’s composition reflects that of the Canadian population according to census parameters. The precision of Ipsos online polls is measured using a credibility interval. In this case, the poll is accurate to within ± 3.8 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, had all Canadians aged 18+ been polled. The credibility interval will be wider among subsets of the population. All sample surveys and polls may be subject to other sources of error, including, but not limited to coverage error, and measurement error.

For more information on this news release, please contact:

Darrell Bricker, PhD
Chairman, Ipsos Canada
+1 416 324 2001
[email protected]

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