How We See Each Other Part I: Canadians and Americans Reflect on Politics, Policies and Each Other As President George Bush Visits Canada

Toronto, ON - With President George W. Bush making his first official visit to Canada, a new Ipsos-Reid/CTV/The Globe and Mail survey of Canadians and Americans shows that while there are substantial differences in public opinion between the two countries, Canadians still harbour feelings of friendship towards their American counterparts.

The survey, fielded from November 19th to 22nd, 2004 was conducted among 1000 residents in each of the United States and Canada. When it comes to the re-election of George W. Bush as President of the United States, Canadians are much less enthusiastic than Americans. Most Canadians view President Bush's re-election as a "bad thing" (58%), with only 26% saying that his re-election was a good thing. In comparison, most Americans (56%) say Bush's re-election to President is a "good thing" (41% of Americans say it is a "bad thing").

But this anti-Bush sentiment in Canada has not translated into feelings of ill will towards Americans themselves: only one in seven Canadians (15%) agree with the statement that "at the heart of it, I am actually anti-American - I don't like or respect anything that the United States and its people stand for or what it is about". The overwhelming majority of Canadians (84%) disagree with this statement.

Further, a strong majority of Canadians (70%) agree with the statement that "I value and respect the United States and its Citizens - it's just that I disagree fundamentally with their government".

And a very strong majority of Canadians (85%) and Americans (82%) agree with the statement that "Canada is a solid friend and close, dependable ally of the United States".

On policy matters, Canadians and Americans do display divergent views. Half of Americans (47%) believe same sex marriage is "wrong and it should never be lawful", compared to just 27% of Canadians who believe this. And, more Canadians (39%) than Americans (29%) believe same sex marriage should be "fully recognized and equal to conventional heterosexual marriages".

Americans (73%) are also much more likely than Canadians (44%) to believe Canada should join the missile defence program.

And when it comes Canadian beef, three in ten Americans (32%) do not feel that Canadian beef is safe to eat - while only 6% of Canadians express this opinion.

And, Americans (52%) are less likely than Canadians (76%) to view Canada as a significant player in world affairs.

But in terms of confidence in the quality of their country's education system, substantially more Canadians than Americans agree that children in their country are getting a good quality education (84% vs. 59%).

These are the findings of an Ipsos-Reid/ CTV poll conducted from November 19th to November 22nd 2004. For the survey, a representative randomly selected sample of 1000 adult Canadians and 1000 adult Americans were interviewed by telephone. With a sample of this size, the results for both countries are considered accurate to within 177 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had these entire populations been polled. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age composition reflects that of the actual population of both countries.

Please open the attached PDF to view the complete release and detailed tables.

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For more information on this news release, please contact:

Darrell Bricker, Ph. D
President & C.O.O
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900

Or

John Wright
Senior Vice-President
Ipsos-Reid Public Affairs
(416) 324-2900