Majority of Canadians think country is 'falling behind' militarily: Survey

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With Prime Minister Mark Carney in Europe this week for a NATO summit, Angus Reid is checking the country’s temperature on military spending.

A new survey says 75% of Canadians believe this country is “falling behind” militarily, even as Carney has committed in recent weeks to a significant defence spending increase.

Still, the top choice for international priority is building better trade ties with international partners (66%) rather than focusing on military preparedness (21%) or humanitarian concerns (13%).

The proportion of Canadians saying the government should focus on improving trade has increased 23 points compared to last year, from 43% to 66%.

Also, after the recent bombing campaign against Iran’s nuclear facilities, 32% of Canadians feel nuclear conflict is inevitable while 21% are uncertain in response to the question.

With talk of joining the “Golden Dome” missile defence system touted by U.S. President Donald Trump, 35% say Canada would be safer while 40% disagree, and one-quarter are unsure (25%).

The survey found the proportion of Canadians saying Canada is “keeping up” in diplomatic influence has jumped double digits from last March (27% to 37%), though many still say the country is behind where it should be (49%) and 56% say Canada is keeping up in terms of foreign aid, marking a nine-point increase since last year

The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from June 20-23 among a randomized sample of 1,479 Canadian adults. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

jstevenson@postmedia.com