Canadians have dim view of Chinese trade deal: poll

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POLITICS BRIEFING

By Chris Hannay (@channay)

Canadians have a very negative impression of the Chinese government and are narrowly opposed to a free-trade deal with that country, a new poll suggests.

The Nanos Research survey found that 76 per cent of respondents had a negative or somewhat negative view of the government of China, compared with only 2 per cent who had positive and 9 per cent who had somewhat positive opinions.

By a narrow margin, poll respondents also did not like the idea of a China-Canada free-trade deal. Forty-seven per cent said they opposed or somewhat opposed talks, and 41 per cent said they supported or somewhat supported it.

"As soon as anyone hears of a Chinese trade deal, visions of jobs don't pop into people's heads," pollster Nik Nanos said. "For the [Canadian] government, which believes that trade with China is very important, it's going to be important for them to explain how this will create jobs in Canada."

The Globe and Mail has previously reported that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is interested in a deal with China to open up new trade opportunities, but the Asian nation would like Canada to open up its foreign investment regulations and get more oil shipped via pipeline to the coasts. Canadian auto parts makers, for their part, are looking for guarantees from Ottawa that their industry would see some kind of protection from extra competition under a free-trade deal.

The Nanos poll, conducted for The Globe and Mail, reached 1,000 Canadians through a telephone and online survey from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1. It is considered accurate to within plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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