U.S. Image Improves in Canada

As in much of the world, America's image has bounced back in Canada over the last year. Positive ratings for the United States have become more common, and President Barack Obama receives considerably higher marks than George W. Bush did when he was in the White House. Even so, as Obama prepares to meet with visiting Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, many Canadians say that the U.S. economy is having a negative impact on their country; and many disagree with Obama on one of his top foreign policy priorities: the war in Afghanistan.

During the years of the Bush presidency, America's image never grew quite as negative in Canada as it did in much of Western Europe, but it nonetheless declined substantially. In 2002, 72% of Canadians expressed a positive opinion of the U.S.; by 2007 only 55% held this view.

However, the most recent Pew Global Attitudes survey, conducted in May and June of this year, finds that 68% of Canadians now have a favorable view of the U.S., while just 28% express an unfavorable opinion.

Read the full report U.S. Image Improves in Canada on the Pew Research Center's Web site.