Why does the world distrust America? Just ask the Canadians
As hundreds of wildfires rage across Canada, the US president and his cronies pour scorn on the country in its hour of need and threaten to take it over
The world is giving up on America, according to Richard Wike, director of global attitudes research at Pew Research Centre. Writing in Foreign Affairs this month, he warns that this time, anti-Americanism is different.
Often seen as holding the gold standard of public opinion surveys, Pew executives are usually circumspect in their public statements. But Wike is stating the obvious. In the past, anti-Americanism was often ideological. Today, it may be purely practical as the United States directly threatens the security and interests of other countries, including its allies.
There is probably no closer ally of the US than Canada. But according to the Pew survey that Wike and his team conducted this summer, only 35 per cent of Canadians would describe the US as a reliable partner, compared with 83 per cent in 2022.
I am a Chinese-Canadian. Since this newspaper is from China, I usually write from a Chinese perspective. But this time, I will write purely as a Canadian.
In the past few days, my family and I have been confined at home in Toronto because the air quality has been rated the world’s worst. There are currently more than 950 wildfires burning in several Canadian provinces, with some of the worst in western Ontario. My inconvenience, though, is nothing compared to those whose homes have been destroyed while others have had to evacuate.
But in the country’s hour of need, Donald Trump and other leading US politicians have responded with the opposite.