Canadians Support Using Oil as Weapon in Trump Trade War

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There is strong nationwide support among Canadians for putting export taxes on oil shipments if needed to retaliate against U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, a new poll suggests.

Export taxes on energy have been considered politically divisive in Canada, but the robust backing shows the level of anger among the Canadian public over Trump’s actions — and potentially gives Justin Trudeau’s government greater license to threaten the levies if Trump revives the tariffs next month.

Overall, 82% of Canadians support unilaterally raising the price on oil exports to the U.S. if Trump tariffs Canadian goods but exempts oil, according to a poll by Nanos Research Group conducted for Bloomberg News. The survey was conducted Jan. 31-Feb. 3 among 1,077 respondents, and is considered accurate within 3 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

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