Canadians think call came from inside White House, poll finds

Nearly three in four blame Trump for rioting, survey suggests

A new poll suggests one in three Canadians have been keeping close tabs on the Jan. 6 hearings in the United States — and that nearly three in four blame former U.S. president Donald Trump for the riots.

Leger’s online poll, conducted in August for the Association for Canadian Studies, found 37 per cent of respondents in Canada and 44 per cent in the U.S. were watching the hearings closely.

Just over half the American respondents, 54 per cent, said the former president is responsible for the Capitol Hill riots, compared with 72 per cent in Canada.

The select committee investigating Jan. 6 is set to hold its next hearing Wednesday, likely the last before the midterms in November.

The poll, which surveyed 1,509 respondents in Canada and 1,002 in the U.S. shortly after the hearing in July, does not carry a margin of error because online surveys are not based on random samples.

A final report on the committee’s findings is expected before the end of the year. However, it’s unclear if it will be released before election day Nov. 8.

The level of Canadian interest in the hearings is likely more to do with a persistent fascination with Trump and his ever evolving legacy than anything else, said association president and CEO Jack Jedwab.

The former president “has left a lingering bad feeling for most Canadians,” who were by and large not supportive of his presidency or its impact on Canada-U.S. relations, Jedwab said.

“Trump is seen as someone who soured relations between the two countries and as the object of considerable mistrust,” he said.

The poll, which was conducted before Pierre Poilievre claimed the leadership of the Conservative party, also broke down the Canadian participants by party affiliation. Maxime Bernier’s hard-right People’s Party of Canada was the only party where a majority — 57 per cent — said they want to see Trump run for president again in 2024, with 25 per cent opposed and 18 per cent refusing to say.

Among Conservatives, 28 per cent said they would support Trump for the nomination, compared with 64 per cent who disagreed. Opposition to a Trump candidacy ran close to 90 per cent among Liberal, NDP and Green Party supporters, and reached 95 per cent among backers of the Bloc Québécois.

Opposition to a Trump candidacy ran close to 90 per cent among Liberal, NDP and Green Party supporters