OTTAWA (Reuters) - About two-thirds of Canadians surveyed this month said American democracy cannot survive another four years of Donald Trump in the White House, and about half said the United States is on the way to becoming an authoritarian state, a poll released on Monday said.

The November U.S. election is likely to pit President Joe Biden against Trump, who is the clear frontrunner to win the Republican nomination as voting in the presidential primary race kicks off in Iowa on Monday.

Sixty-four percent of respondents in the Angus Reid Institute poll of 1,510 Canadians said they agreed with the statement: “U.S. democracy cannot survive another four years of Donald Trump.” Twenty-eight percent disagreed.

The Jan. 6, 2021 attack on Capitol Hill by Trump supporters seeking to block certification of Biden’s 2020 election win shocked many Canadians, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly blamed Trump for inciting the mob.

Trump has vowed if elected again to punish his political enemies, and he has drawn criticism for using increasingly authoritarian language.

Three times as many Canadians say a Biden victory would be better for Canada’s economy (53%) than a Trump win (18%), according to the poll which was seen exclusively by Reuters. The poll, taken between Jan. 9-11, had a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points

  • assassin_aragorn@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    Me too Canada. Me too. I don’t suppose we could convince you to move down here with Trudeau and we kick trump and his supporters up there with your conservatives?

    • Kedly@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      We’re about to elect our own mini Trump, so like usual, we act like we’re better than the states, but just wait a decade to follow in their footsteps. At least we have Gun Control and Universal Healthcare tho…

      • TJDetweiler@lemmy.ca
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        9 months ago

        We’re about to elect our own mini Trump? News to me. Sounds like fear mongering. Gunna need a source on that.

        • Kedly@lemm.ee
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          9 months ago

          Im being a tad bit sendationalist, but if you seriously believe PP wont fuck us far harder than Trudeau has then get you ass back to Alberta

          • TJDetweiler@lemmy.ca
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            9 months ago

            I do believe PP will absolutely fuck us harder than Trudeau. You can state your point without being sensational. I’m also from BC, and vote hard NDP, not that I need to justify that.

            I’m simply saying you shouldn’t fear-monger unless you have some material to back it up.

            Downvoting for honest discussion is also not going to win you any arguments, but carry on. I upvote honest discussion, and encourage you and others to do so. We can talk like adults without telling others to go to another province.

            • Kedly@lemm.ee
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              9 months ago

              I’m not trying to win an argument by downvoting you, we just have different measures by which we downvote. Shits legitimately bad here already and PP making things worse is a very real and present fear, so yeah, my statement is a LITTLE sensationalist, but the Canadian conservative parties are following the same route as the American conservatives, so no, I dont feel it was worth the attitude you gave me in your first message, hence why I downvoted you. A lot of us are at our limits and losing hope for the future, which is a recipe for facist ideology to take root and our conservatives, PP not being an exception, are amplifying this fear without any real solutions, and a lot of Canadians are starting to buy into that.

  • RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    The point trump has abundantly made is that he wishes to do away with democracy as we knew it.

    It’s not that it won’t survive some rambling and ineffectual idiot, it will be actively crushed by him and his supporters.

    • Evkob@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      With how the Conservative Party has been importing the GOP’s brand of reactionary politics over the last few years, I’d say the current radicalisation of our southern neighbour (who is also by far our largest trading partner and with whom we share the world’s longest land border) is one of Canada’s many problems. Quite a big one at that.

      • TJDetweiler@lemmy.ca
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        9 months ago

        After seeing all the Canadian flags flying on the back up pick up trucks during covid, I could not possibly agree more. The conservative osmosis bleeding up into Canada, especially Alberta, is quite concerning.

        • Evkob@lemmy.ca
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          9 months ago

          At least they’re Canadian flags. I’ve seen trucks with Trump stickers. Some guy a couple houses down the street from me has a Confederate flag in his window. I’ve heard people talk about their “first amendment rights” as Canadian citizens who have never stepped foot in the US.

          If Alberta is Canada’s Texas, New Brunswick is Florida.

    • Stamets@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      “Stop pointing out that I’m missing three limbs, all my teeth and half of my head. You’ve got a wound too, a papercut, hypocrite.”

      • aberrate_junior_beatnik@midwest.social
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        9 months ago

        Canada is not that much better off than the US politically (though to be sure they are better off). They too have a Trumpy conservative candidate who is projected to win in an election. Their left/center-left parties are fractured facing off a unified right. They also suffer from a non-representative electoral system (still mad at Trudeau for failing to keep his promise there). And one big factor in how this is possible is that they can look down at the US and say “at least we’re not THAT bad” when things get worse for them.

        So yeah, I do think they would benefit from spending some more time looking at their own problems.

        • Stamets@lemmy.world
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          9 months ago

          Yeah, wanna point out which one of us had the insurrection that ended up with someone dead and attack on the capitol again? Oh wait.

          It’s really telling how many Americans though are like “YOU DON’T GET TO COMPLAIN ABOUT US BECAUSE YOU HAVE PROBLEMS TOO.” My guy… we can do both. We are looking at ourselves and going “Oh fuck.” However, we also have the ability to have two thoughts at the same time. Something I’m not sure about when it comes to a lot of American voters.

          • aberrate_junior_beatnik@midwest.social
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            9 months ago

            Yeah, wanna point out which one of us had the insurrection that ended up with someone dead and attack on the capitol again? Oh wait.

            Yes, it is worse here, as I admitted. Even factoring in hyperbole, though, this is not a papercut vs. missing limbs situation. It didn’t pan out, but the Convoi de la liberté could have escalated to something similar if they weren’t so incompetent.

            I get that Canadians can focus on both. I do think Canadians should criticize the US, same as I think USians should. It’s also understandable to worry about what’s going on here, as we are very close by and have huge influence over world events.

            But, Canadians do use how bad the US is as an excuse to ignore their own problems. I have seen it. And yes, lots of Canadians don’t! But the Canadians I know who understand things are bad tend to acknowledge this as a part of the problem.

        • Shiggles@sh.itjust.works
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          9 months ago

          Nobody thinks you’re the composed and reasonable one here dude, you gag on the balls of an orange failed businessman and failed dictator.

          • JoMama@lemm.ee
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            9 months ago

            You’re assumptions only highlights the true issue.

            You assume I voted or would vote for a political candidate such as this…you are wrong. Yet, out of touch psuedo intellectual types with far left leanings behave exactly like far right idiots who still believe in a broken political system…that isn’t yours …also, ad hominem attacks are a logical fallacy.

            • Shiggles@sh.itjust.works
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              9 months ago

              You don’t need to vote to gag on someone’s nuts dude, “enlightened centrism” is quietly supporting the openly fascist side by pretending they’re at all comparable to the opposition.

              • JoMama@lemm.ee
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                9 months ago

                Sound like you got nuts on the brain…must be butthurt still about South Park

                Yes…and assuming what others are doing and saying without proof, is what again?

            • Shiggles@sh.itjust.works
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              9 months ago

              Also, ad hominem attacks aren’t for argumentative value, they’re fun. Sometimes a twat needs to be called a twat

    • henfredemars@infosec.pub
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      9 months ago

      One should concerned if their neighbor’s house catches fire. There’s massive potential for collateral damage.

      • JoMama@lemm.ee
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        9 months ago

        Unlike most in this thread…when my neighbors house is on fire, I help put it out, true story. I don’t stand in my yard complaining about the heat

          • Imgonnatrythis@sh.itjust.works
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            9 months ago

            Step up their game, preemptively invade and take over the US. Strike while the striking is good. Sometimes these things are necessary from a foreign policy standpoint to protect democracy.

            • orclev@lemmy.world
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              9 months ago

              So, so far you’ve said Canada a) should just ignore the US, and then b) should help the US instead of just talking about it. You’re contradicting yourself. Canada cares because a US Dictatorship would be massively dangerous for the world, and as the US closest neighbor they stand to suffer more than most. There’s little they can do at this point that doesn’t make things worse besides talking about how dangerous the situation is. Should Trump actually win I’m sure they’ll take more active measures (most likely at least initially would be putting extra military forces on the border), but at this point they’re most likely just hoping Trump ends up in jail like the rest of us are.

              • JoMama@lemm.ee
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                9 months ago

                The dillusion is that normal, everyday , working class people have anything to do with the world geopolitical situation. The whole point is, that if everyone used their energy to focus on their own problems, the entire world would be better off.

                Rather. The world likes the soap opera that it has become. And all sides have a vested interest in the cacophony. I support true action…I also didn’t use the improper analogy…just put it in a better context.

                Any whining by those on the other side of a fictional line, matters nothing to me. Everyone in this thread is a fool, including myself.

                • girlfreddy@lemmy.ca
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                  9 months ago

                  We share the longest undefended border in the world. Ofc Canadians are worried! If Trump decides he wants our fresh water resources 'cause California needs it to grow produce, what would stop him?

                  Blaming us for your nation’s (likely) fall into a dictatorship isn’t the best look.

    • Leraje@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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      9 months ago

      If that sociopathological narcissist gets in, it’s going to be everyone’s problem - US, Canada, Mexico, Europe, the Middle East. He is utterly unhinged. In fact, the only people who’ll be really pleased are Putin and Kim.

    • Avid Amoeba@lemmy.ca
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      9 months ago

      The administration in the US is absolutely our problem as it affects us quite directly and measurably.

    • lennybird@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      I think it’s a fairly good indicator that our northern neighbors can see these serious issues from the outside looking in.

      Might be worth paying attention to.

    • Icalasari@kbin.social
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      9 months ago

      Remember, one of our national past times is watching as everything around us collapses while we shake each other’s hands for at least not being AS bad as the states

  • NihilisticOptimist@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I am not a fan of this idea, but Canada needs nukes ASAP. If Trump wins , we need a nuclear deterrent. I’m afraid we’ll suffer the same fate of Ukraine.

    I’d rather be wrong with nukes then right without them.

    • Brosplosion@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      That’s a crazy slippery slope. US will never shit where it eats. Land war sucks and the US military is highly aware of this.

    • Desistance@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      That’s a bit overkill. America will plunge into a civil war long before Canada will need nukes. Many people won’t suffer more of Trump’s degeneration of the constitution.

      • 4z01235@lemmy.world
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        9 months ago

        In a scenario where Canada needs a nuclear deterrent against the USA, I don’t think NORAD is really in the picture anymore.

  • unreasonabro@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    It’s ok, the continent’s gonna split up the middle pretty soon from all the fracking, there ain’t gonna be a country there in the first place pretty soon.

  • EdibleFriend@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    We are gonna take all you fucks down with us, and its because we are sick of the fat jokes. I mean…im fat. But its not because I’m American.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      9 months ago

      Trump has always been the tip of the spear. But the sheer volume of fascists in the country mean he’s bound to be replaced as soon as his age and bad health catch up with him. He’ll become another party icon, like Reagan and Eisenhower, whose legacy will be ironed over and policies normalized until his face ends up on the $20 bill.

      Liberals and Neo-cons alike keep telling themselves that Trump is something you can just make go away from the top - by a prosecution or an electoral defeat or a coronary. But the fascism he represents is echoed through a thousand YouTube Recommended Vidoes, AM Radio Channels, Church pulpits, and Country Club smoking halls around the nation.

      His ghost is going to haunt this country for another generation.

  • rusticus@lemm.ee
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    9 months ago

    We took the same bullshit apologetic approach after the Civil War with “reconstruction” and look where we are now: rotten to the core with racists, sexists and xenophobes.

    • octopus_ink@lemmy.ml
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      9 months ago

      Damn you Andrew Johnson!

      For the most part, historians view Andrew Johnson as the worst possible person to have served as President at the end of the American Civil War. Because of his gross incompetence in federal office and his incredible miscalculation of the extent of public support for his policies, Johnson is judged as a great failure in making a satisfying and just peace. He is viewed to have been a rigid, dictatorial racist who was unable to compromise or to accept a political reality at odds with his own ideas. Instead of forging a compromise between Radical Republicans and moderates, his actions united the opposition against him. His bullheaded opposition to the Freedmen’s Bureau Bill, the Civil Rights Act of 1866, and the Fourteenth Amendment eliminated all hope of using presidential authority to effect further compromises favorable to his position. In the end, Johnson did more to extend the period of national strife than he did to heal the wounds of war.

      On top of my joy at another opportunity to mention what a shitbird Johnson was, a shittyness we are still feeling, IMO, the bolded bit sounds a lot like another President I can think of.

  • paddirn@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    I’m not sure it really deserves to survive if this country elects Trump a second time.

  • WaxedWookie@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    …unlike Republicans, who think democracy won’t survive, but aren’t worried because “their” guy will be the dictator.

    • Foni@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      I came to say exactly that. They are perfectly aware that they are going to overthrow democracy and it’s not clear to me that they don’t do it regardless of whether they win or lose.