Brits prefer Canadians to Americans

William JordanUS Elections Editor
July 01, 2013, 10:06 PM GMT+0

When asked which they have a more favorable impression of, Britons are more than six times more likely to choose Canadians over Americans

Today is Canada Day, Canada’s national day, which marks the day in 1867 when three British North American colonies were united into a single country called Canada. Thursday, July 4th, is the day on which another former British colony celebrates its own independence: the United States.

To mark these two important dates, YouGov has asked Britons which they have a more favorable impression of: Americans or Canadians.

Canadians, chosen by 45% of the British public, were the undeniable favorite; only 7% of British adults feel better about Americans, which is less than the 25% who have an equally favourable impression of Canadians and Americans and the 14% who have a favorable impression of neither.

Americans were the least popular choice among Britons of all demographic groups surveyed. Americans are particularly unpopular among Lib Dem voters, however, of whom only 1% prefer Americans and 64% prefer Canadians.

Today is also the first day on the job as governor of the Bank of England for Mark Carney, the first foreigner to be governor in the institution’s history. A previous YouGov poll found that almost a third of Britons found it “unacceptable” that a Canadian be given a senior role like Governor of the Bank of England; however, even more – 39% of the British public – say it is unacceptable for an American to take on such a role.

See the full poll results

Not yet a member of YouGov? Make your opinion count by joining today!