Out of a list of nine countries, Canada is the only one of which most people around the world have a positive opinion, according to the Voice of the People survey released by Gallup International. 53 per cent of respondents from 63 different countries see Canada with good eyes.
Japan, Britain and the United States are next on the list with 46 per cent, followed by Germany with 45 per cent, France with 42 per cent, Italy with 41 per cent, China with 27 per cent, and Russia with 26 per cent. More than 30 per cent of respondents hold negative views on Russia and China.
Methodology: Interviews with more than 59,000 adults in 63 countries, conducted from July to September 2006.
A similar poll was done in 2004, at which time Canada still led, but with 49% positive.
12 comments:
That is a pretty in depth survey and I'd like to read a bit more.
While I'm grateful to see that we are viewed positively, I have concerns with this and how it might be used.
We, Canada, have taken some pretty terrible stands vis a vis Foreign Policy, through Harper. I'm not sure if they have just been "sold" very well, or our actions have not yet played out, or maybe the world doesn't really hear what Canada says.
My intent is not to be a naysayer, but rather to really understand the numbers.
knb
The poll was taken last year. Here is the pdf link, which has a few more details.
Thanks Steve, I saw the link and that's what I want to go through. I'm not sure yet how I feel about this.
Although it is nice to see that Canada seems to enjoy a decent reputation, I, like KNB, do wonder, especially when I see the numbers go up from '04. What first comes to mind is that perhaps details Canada's "foreign" activities in the past year plus and few months (a-hum) have not filtered through yet.
Yippee.
Keep this post and the survey archived, and we'll all check back next year. After the Harper Party era has had a chance to inch its way under the people's skin.
Uh, oh...I don't think posts like this are allowed. After a week of reading pundits like Jeffrey Simpson and cultural critics like Richard Cohen hectoring and lecturing about the appalling mediocrity, the smug parochialism and the...wait for it...moral superiority of Canadians, I believe it has been decreed by our betters that news like this is nothing more than gushy sentimentality and just another manifestation of how unwilling we are to accept our second-rate status.
Always fun to read the comments here. The world's view of Canada has gone up since Harper came to power and you are all trying to find ways around it. Why don't you just give him some credit for it?
The world's view of Canada has gone up since Harper came to power and you are all trying to find ways around it. Why don't you just give him some credit for it?
Did you read the foreign reporting on the G8 in which it was remarked how much of a non-entity Harper is?
I've lived all over the world; the only Canadian prime minister people tend to remember is Pierre Trudeau...and they're all approaching dotage.
Harper and his minority of mediocrities has nothing to do with this.
ti-guy - "Harper and his minority of mediocrities has nothing to do with this."
Yes, I would not think that what Harper has done or, not done would increase Canada's rating.
I would be interested in reading your thoughts on why the increase from '04, .... as I can't see it.
Thanks
This poll is from 2004 to 2006 - Harper had absolutely NOTHING to do with it.
We'll probably drop dramatically now that we've become Americanized in foreign affairs, etc.
Nice while it lasted.
I would be interested in reading your thoughts on why the increase from '04, .... as I can't see it.
I actually don't think all that much of polls like this; people around the world base their images of other countries on the bad things they hear; Canada generally merits very little attention world-wide (and that's a *good* thing, as far as I can tell), so the increase might be in response to all the bad things they're hearing about every *other* place.
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