Young men and educated Canadians would be the most likely to accept U.S. citizenship if offered by President Donald Trump, a new poll finds.
Forty-five per cent of men aged 18 to 34 would take on American citizenship if the opportunity arose. Meanwhile, 46% said they would reject the offer with 9% uncertain, the poll revealed.
The survey was commissioned by True North and conducted by One Persuasion. It reveals a notable demographic divide in Canadians’ willingness to accept U.S. citizenship if given a hypothetical offer by Trump – an idea he has toyed with in recent remarks about annexing Canada.
Canadians’ openness to U.S. citizenship varied wildly depending on age, gender, education, and political affiliation.
The willingness decreased sharply with age among men, with only 32% of those aged 35 to 55 and 15% of those 55 and older saying yes.
Women were generally less likely to express interest in U.S. citizenship across all age groups. Only 25% of women aged 18 to 34 said yes, and this figure dropped to 18% for women aged 35 to 55 and 7% for those 55 and older.
Education level emerged as a strong factor influencing a willingness to accept such an offer. While only 13% of respondents with a high school education or less said they would take U.S. citizenship, the number rose steadily with higher education levels. Nineteen per cent of respondents with a trade or community college education said they would accept an offer. Of those with a bachelor’s degree, 25% said yes, climbing to 35% for respondents with a postgraduate degree.
At the national level, about one in five (22%) Canadians said they would say yes to a U.S. citizenship offer from Trump, while 67% rejected the idea and 11% remained unsure.
When broken down by region, some differences were notable. Respondents in British Columbia had the highest rate of acceptance at 28%, while those in Quebec and the Prairies had the lowest support with 19% for both regions. In Ontario, 23% said yes to American citizenship and 20% of Atlantic Canadians.
Language also played a role in determining openness to the idea, with English speakers more likely to say yes (23%) compared to French speakers (18%).
Political affiliation heavily influenced responses. Canadians who voted Conservative in the 2021 federal election were the most likely to say yes (32%), followed by the NDP (20%), compared to 14% of Liberal voters and just 4% of Bloc Québécois supporters.
Higher-income households were also more open to the idea, with 36% of those earning over $150,000 annually expressing interest compared to 16% in households earning under $50,000.
The survey, conducted online from January 21 to 24, polled 1,801 Canadian adults and has a margin of error of +/- 2.3%, nineteen times out of twenty with results weighted to match recent census data.
Another recent poll conducted by Ipsos had similar results with 43% of Canadians indicating they would vote to have Canada join the U.S. if they received citizenship and had their assets converted to the U.S. dollar. However, Canadians overall were overwhelmingly against the idea with 80% refusing to entertain annexation.
