2 days ago
Nearly 2 in 3 say Canada should not join Trump's Golden Dome defence system: Nanos
U.S. President Donald Trump attends the UFC-316 mixed martial arts event, at the Prudential Center, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in Newark, N.J., with UFC's Dana White, left. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
A majority of surveyed Canadians are against joining U.S. President Donald Trump's 'Golden Dome' missile defence system, new polling from Nanos Research shows.
Conducted earlier this month for CTV News, the randomized survey of 1,120 Canadian adults found that 63 per cent of respondents said Canada 'should not be part of the American Golden Dome,' and should instead prioritize spending 'on the capability of Canadian Armed Forces.'
Roughly 17 per cent of respondents supported paying the required costs to join the Golden Dome, with 20 per cent telling pollsters they were unsure.
Respondents aged 35-54 were marginally more likely to show support for joining the defence pact (19.8 per cent) compared to other age groups, and men were roughly twice as likely as women to do so (22.6 and 11.6 per cent, respectively).
Regionally, Golden Dome support was more common in the Prairies (20.3 per cent), British Columbia (19.9 per cent) and Quebec (19.6 per cent), and least common in Atlantic Canada (12 per cent) and Ontario (13.6 per cent).
Golden Dome, golden price tag
Last month, Trump unveiled his plan to construct the Golden Dome, a sprawling, multilayered defence grid he said would be capable of intercepting missiles launched from around the globe, and even from space.
Said to cost US$175 billion, the president later announced on social media that the grid could include protections for Canada from outside threats, but with a substantial price tag.
'I told Canada, which very much wants to be part of our fabulous Golden Dome System, that it will cost $61 Billion Dollars if they remain a separate, but unequal, Nation, but will cost ZERO DOLLARS if they become our cherished 51st State,' he wrote in a post to Truth Social on May 27.
Trump Truth Social Golden Dome Canada
(Image credit: Truth Social)
Prime Minister Mark Carney's office told CTV News in a statement that 'the prime minister has been clear at every opportunity, including in his conversations with President Trump, that Canada is an independent, sovereign nation, and it will remain one.'
Carney has separately acknowledged the Dome, saying it 'has been discussed at a high level,' but that he was 'not sure one negotiates' on defence matters like this.
'These are military decisions that have been taken in that context, and we will evaluate it accordingly,' he said in a May press conference.
Methodology
The survey involved a randomized sample of 1,120 Canadians aged 18 years or older, and was conducted between June 1 and 3, 2025, online and over the phone. Results were 'statistically checked and weighted by age and gender,' in keeping with the latest federal census data, as well as geographically to provide a representative sample of Canada.
The survey carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
With files from CTV News' Lynn Chaya and Mike Le Couteur
