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Canadians love Obama, but anti-Americanism dies hard
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Demonstrators protest former U.S. President George W. Bush's visit
to Saskatoon, October 21st, 2009.
(AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Geoff Howe)
A pair of recently-released polls in Canada indicate U.S. President Barack Obama is more popular north of the 49th parallel than with his own citizens. But both surverys -- done to coincide with the first anniversary of Obama's election -- suggest that Americans themselves still don't fare so well with their critical neighbours.
A Canadian Press/Harris Decima poll would be great news for Obama had it been done in the United States. Not only did two in three Canadians contacted say "they believe the U.S. president is doing an excellent or good job," but Canadians, in general, appear to have a more positive opinion of Obama now than they did when he first took office.
While a Historica-Dominion Institute survey echoes the Harris Decima poll, it also indicates that the Canadian pathology of anti-Americanism is as alive, more or less, as in the past, including during the days of President George W. Bush, when Canadian-American relations were particularly strained. According to the Institute's findings, 90 per cent of Canadians surveyed had a positive opinion of Barack Obama but only 44 per cent agreed that the United States is a "force for good in the world." In the province of Quebec, those numbers are lowest, with only a third of respondents agreeing that the United States is a positive force in the world.
"What's striking about these findings is how Canadians have detached their personal view of Barack Obama, whom they quite like and respect, from the United States, which they still view with skepticism, even distrust," said Andrew Cohen, President of The Historica Dominion Institute.
When asked if they "feel at home" whenever they visit the United States, 48 per cent of Canadians agreed (16% strongly agree; 32% somewhat agree).
Obama's personal popularity aside, these numbers have hardly changed since 2005, when a similar poll revealed that 44 per cent of Canadians felt at home when visiting the United States. And while, in 2005, a mere 21 per cent of Canadians held a favourable view of then-President Bush, this hasn't prevented the controversial figure from making Canada almost a home away from home since leaving office.
In 2009, Bush has so far given seven sold-out (and highly-priced) speaking engagements across the country, starting in Calgary in March. One was a joint apearance with another former president, Bill Clinton, in Toronto, in May. He has received rave reviews for virtually all of them, impressing audiences with his warmth and humour. But anti-Americanism isn't the only habit that dies hard. At each of Bush's appearances, protesters followed, some with shoes in hand.
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