According to a new Reuters/"Ipsos" poll A majority of Americans oppose US President Donald Trump's measures last week to increase tariffs on Canadian goods and his order to rename Lake Ontario "Lake America," Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
The three-day survey, which ended on Sunday, shows that Americans view with distrust the conflict with Canada - for decades one of the United States' largest trading partners - which has escalated after trade talks between the two countries broke down and Trump last week ordered increased tariffs on Canadian goods.
Only 20 percent of those surveyed supported higher tariffs on Canadian goods, compared to 57 percent who opposed them and 21 percent who did not express a precise position. About one in five respondents had not heard of the incident.
American households are already feeling financial strain from a surge in fuel prices since Trump declared war on Iran in February, and American voters have cited the cost of living as the most important factor in determining who they vote for in the upcoming midterm elections on November 3, Reuters notes.
Republicans will struggle to maintain their fragile majority in the US Congress in the elections. However, Trump's approval rating in recent weeks continues to sit at the lowest level of his political career.
The trade conflict took on a theatrical character last week, when on Thursday Trump decided to rename Lake Ontario - one of the five Great Lakes in North America - – to – – "Lake America". The name Trump gave applies to the lake's use in U.S. federal documents and does not determine how Canada, international organizations or other institutions will call it. Trump has repeatedly taken a light-hearted approach to Canada, threatening to annex the longtime ally as the 51st U.S. state. At the start of his second term in January 2025, he ordered the Gulf of Mexico to be renamed "American Gulf."
Only 14 percent of Americans surveyed in a Reuters/Ipsos poll said they supported changing the name of Lake Ontario, which has had that name for more than 400 years. A full 63 percent of respondents opposed the name change, while the rest were unsure or did not answer the question.
The survey, which was conducted online with respondents from across the country, collected responses from 1,023 American adults and had a statistical error of 4 percentage points, Reuters noted.