A majority of Canadians hold a favourable view of relations with India, while, conversely, their opinion of China has cratered, according to a new survey released on Friday.
Published by the non-partisan, public opinion research agency Angus Reid Institute or ARI, the poll conducted in late February included 1622 respondents.
Among the principal findings was that the “majority of Canadians say their federal government should approach the Beijing regime either as a threat to its interests (40%) or, worse, an enemy (22%).”
Just 12% view China favourably. The only country that does worse than China is Russia, thanks to its attack on Ukraine. Nearly three-quarters, 72%, believed that Russia should be considered either a threat to Canadian interests or as an enemy.
That’s in contrast to opinion about India. The majority view about India is positive, with 42% believing it should be approached on friendly terms and another 10% thinking it ought to be considered a valuable partner and ally. Also, 62% of Canadians hold a favourable view of Taiwan, the island nation Beijing considers part of its territory.
ARI commented, “In the aftermath of a Chinese test of Canadian airspace and alleged attempts of interference in the last two Canadian elections, there are few in this country willing to give the Chinese Government in Beijing the benefit of the doubt when it comes to bilateral relations.”
The flashpoints referred to include the Chinese surveillance balloon that transgressed over Canadian airspace last month before being brought down over American coastal waters. While that event no longer occupies headlines in Canada, what does is a series of reports in the outlets the Globe and Mail and Global News about alleged Chinese interference in the 2019 and 2021 Federal elections in Canada. That issue continued to dominate the news cycle as on Friday, an Ontario legislator Vincent Ke resigned from the ruling provincial caucus of the Progressive Conservative Party, and was also removed from his role parliamentary assistant to the Minister of Public and Business Delivery, following a report in Global News, citing security and intelligence sources, that he was allegedly a “financial intermediary” for the Chinese Government in its attempts to influence Canadian elections. Ke denied the allegations: In a response posted on Twitter, he described them as “false and defamatory.”
Canadians are paying attention to these developments, at home and abroad, as ARI said, “It may be the case that the Russia-Ukraine war, alongside recent developments in the Canada-China relationship, have affected Canadians’ worldview as they assess the international arena.”
