OTTAWA — A new Leger poll suggests Canadians want the federal government to be tougher in trade negotiations with the United States.

It says slightly more than half of the respondents said they want the government to take a hard line and make no more concessions, compared with almost one-third who said Canada should be flexible and be open to concessions.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat on $28 billion worth of Canadian goods is set to take effect just after midnight.

TThe poll surveyed 1,622 Canadians between Aug. 15 and 17 and it can’t be assigned a margin of error because it was conducted online.

The poll suggests 38 per cent of Canadians believe the government’s approach to the trade talks is passive, while 30 per cent consider it balanced.

It suggests there is broad support for stronger retaliatory trade measures against the U.S., including taxes on electricity and oil and gas exports, as well as restrictions on U.S.-owned companies from Canadian government contracts.

The polling industry’s professional body, the Canadian Research Insights Council, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error because they do not randomly sample the population.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 18, 2026.