Members of the Canadian Armed Forces march during a Remembrance Day ceremony in Montreal on Nov. 11, 2025. A recent poll shows Canadians’ historic self-image as peacekeepers is clashing with the reality of a changing, more dangerous world.Christopher Katsarov/The Canadian Press

Nik Nanos is the chief data scientist at Nanos Research, an executive fellow at the School of Public Policy at the University of Calgary, and the official pollster for The Globe and Mail and CTV News.

Canada is witnessing a once-in-a-generation shift in opinion on matters of national defence. In the absence of a traditional war, a wartime mentality is emerging: Canadians have an appetite for more defence spending as they see significant global threats.

A study commissioned by the University of Calgary and completed by Nanos Research in late 2025 points to a series of historic shifts that will influence both Canada’s defence posture and strategy. U.S. President Donald Trump’s musings about Canada becoming the 51st state and strained trade discussion have shaken Canadians.

Just as many Canadians agree that the best way for Canada to be a world leader in foreign affairs is to build international consensus (66 per cent agree with this statement) as believe that Canada needs a strong military to be effective in international relations (65 per cent agree with this statement).

When asked how Canada can best advance its place in the world, trade topped the list (91 per cent of respondents felt it was important), followed by diplomacy (83 per cent), national defence (71 per cent), environment (63 per cent), foreign aid (51 per cent) and immigration (41 per cent). Since the benchmark study was conducted in 2020, the importance........

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