Poll: over 40% of Canadian teens think America is "evil"

Teens skeptical of America's influence

Misty Harris
CanWest News Service
Friday, June 25, 2004

Evil is a word usually reserved for serial killers, Austin Powers villains and kids who tear the legs off baby spiders. But, a new poll shows a significant number of young Canadians would use "evil" to describe something far different: their U.S. neighbours.

In a telephone poll of 500 teens aged 14 to 18, more than 40 per cent of respondents saw the U.S. as an evil global force. Among French Canadians, that number jumped to 64 per cent. Ontario proved the most conflicted on the issue; there, nearly one-fifth of youth were on the fence.

"Teens have taken (Ronald) Reagan's concept of the Soviet Union as an evil empire and turned it back on the U.S.," says Rudyard Griffiths, director of the Dominion Institute.

"Clearly, the anti-American sentiment isn't just something coming from thirtysomethings or even twentysomethings."

Avnish Nanda, a 15-year-old from Edmonton, says he sees the American government as neither totally good nor totally bad.

"When George (W.) Bush came into power, he was a real force of evil, getting into a war people say was about oil," Nanda says. "But all over the world, America gives aid to countries whether they deserve it or not, and that's really good for people."

The poll was conducted at the end of March and has a 4.3 per cent margin of error. It was commissioned by CanWest News Service and sponsored by the Dominion Institute and Navigator Ltd. to engage youth in the election and to give parents, teachers and politicians a look at where young people stand on key issues.

"Stephen Harper is saying we need to integrate more with the U.S.," says Nanda, a youth volunteer for the Liberal party. "Well, I don't see how that helps us increase our sovereignty as a nation."

Greg Lyle, a principal at Navigator Ltd. with a long history in politics, says the poll results suggest "the emotion we saw in the '88 campaign about our relationship with the Americans" still lingers in "a very major way."

Conflicting views on the role of the military were also revealed in the poll. Although 51 per cent of teens want Canada to be known through its peacekeeping efforts, a majority -- 69 per cent -- wouldn't consider a career in the military.

In terms of this election, Lyle says the findings don't have huge domestic implications. But they do foreshadow big things for future elections, particularly given the Conservatives' stance on military spending and defence.

"Stephen Harper and his colleagues are more likely to talk about peace-making than peacekeeping, and that's somewhat out of step with young people," he says. "Youth have a very, very strong desire to be seen as peacekeepers, so long as it doesn't mean they have to do the peacekeeping themselves."

Lyle calls the underlying trend chequebook activism -- showing commitment to a cause by throwing tax dollars at it, not by getting physically involved. And Griffiths believes it's a result of Canada's role as "the fireproof attic of North America" over the past 10 years.

"It's a pretty good time to be a young Canadian in terms of the opportunities, the general affluence of society, and the absence of a direct threat to the country," Griffiths says. He suggests teens lack a sense of military duty because they've been living the good life and are largely cut off from international disputes.

"Young people are saying they don't see themselves as citizens of the world," he says, echoing poll results where only 23 per cent of respondents identified as global citizens. "This is a generation that really sees themselves strongly as Canadians."

Canadians? LOL, next people will be pretending to care about what the french think

Cinq dollars ? ! ? ! ?


uuuuhhhhhh . . . poutine y compris?

Let Denmark and Canada defend themselves, as well as every other country that relies on the US for their freedoms. Let them realize just who the real bad guys in the world are.

Well actually, Denmark is a bad example. The Danes are considered to be one of the most pro-US nations in the EU.

These are the reasons we should pull our military out of countries that do not want us there. Let Denmark and Canada defend themselves, as well as every other country that relies on the US for their freedoms. Let them realize just who the real bad guys in the world are.

Well, their government - I'm not so sure about the population (might be the same as in the UK).