Canadian Majority Wants Troops Out of Afghanistan Before 2011

Only one-in-five think the Afghan government will be able to take care of its own security needs without outside assistance.



In the first Angus Reid Strategies poll on the Afghanistan mission conducted after Prime Minister Stephen Harper revealed that his government does not plan to extend Canada's military commitment beyond 2011, most Canadians think that a troop withdrawal should be enacted sooner and very few believe the Afghan government will be able to handle security without international assistance. More than half of our members (53%) call for the bulk of Canadian troops to be removed from Afghanistan before 2011, while one-third (33%) would follow the scheduled plan to withdraw most Canadian soldiers in 2011.

AND

Obama Will Improve Bilateral Ties, Say Both Canadians and Americans

-->
Obama will improve bilateral relations,
say 44% of Americans and 59% of
Canadians
-->
Obama will be good for the U.S. overall,
say 84% of Canadians and 55% of
Americans
-->
68% of Canadians and 52% of
Americans support NAFTA

…Survey shows hope on both sides of the border for better relations and high support for bilateral trade.

Most people in Canada and the United States think U.S. President-elect Barack Obama will help improve relations between the two countries, our poll on behalf of the Canadian American Business Council (CABC) has found. In the survey, 44 percent of people in the U.S. and 59 per cent of our members in Canada think the Obama administration will help improve ties between the two North American nations.

*Angus Reid