While Canadians overwhelmingly support Prime Minister Mark Carney's decision to walk away from trade talks with the U.S., almost 40 per cent of Canadian workers fear the trade war will cost them their jobs.
New data from the Angus Reid Institute suggests 13 per cent of Canadians are "very concerned about losing their own job," while another 25 per cent also expressed some level of anxiety.
Industry experts suggest Canadians have a right to be fearful. They predict no trade deal with the U.S. will cost the Canadian economy as many as 90,000 jobs.
Support for Carney's decision remains at 76 per cent, confirming most Canadians want negotiators to take a "hard line" with Washington. Even in Alberta and Saskatchewan, where the pollster found support was lowest, 67 per cent of respondents in Alberta, and 65 per cent in Saskatchewan said they supported walking away from the bargaining table.
Fifty-three per cent of Conservatives also said it was right to walk away from a bad deal.
The pollster also found strong support for Canada's dollar-for-dollar counter-tariffs set to go into effect on Tuesday. Sixty-two per cent said it was the right call "under the circumstances."
Canadians also appear optimistic they'll come out on the other side of the trade war a stronger country. About 64 per cent believe Canada will emerge stronger, while 26 per cent disagree, saying it'll be hard to overcome the damage to Canada's relationship with its most important trading partner.
