Three-in-five support Canada sending peacekeepers if Ukraine-Russia ceasefire reached; half as many oppose

Half of would-be CPC voters (51%) are opposed to Canada sending peacekeepers

March 18, 2025 – The ball is “in Russia’s court” according to American officials, after Ukraine accepted a tentative agreement for a 30-day ceasefire last week during negotiations in Saudi Arabia. The world now watches Russian President Vladimir Putin and awaits the next steps in the three-year long war.

If, indeed, a peace agreement is signed in the coming days or months, results of a Canada-U.S. public opinion survey from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds most Canadians supportive of sending peacekeeping troops to help to maintain it. Overall, twice as many say they would support sending a Canadian envoy to assist (60%) than would oppose (29%). That said, domestic politics is key driver of opinion.

Half of those who currently say they would support Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party are opposed to sending troops (51%), compared to 12, 17 and 22 per cent respectively of would-be Liberal, NDP and BQ supporters. Conservative leaners are also most likely to say Canada has offered “too much” support to Ukraine (52%) compared to supporters of the Liberals (8%), NDP (15%), or Bloc Québécois (10%) who say the same.

South of the border, Americans are more likely to say that their country has provided too much support to Ukraine (37%), led by a strong majority of those who voted for Donald Trump in the November election (64%). Others are divided between feeling the U.S. has given the appropriate amount of support (22%) or not enough (23%). One-in-five are unsure (19%).

About ARI

The Angus Reid Institute (ARI) was founded in October 2014 by pollster and sociologist, Dr. Angus Reid. ARI is a national, not-for-profit, non-partisan public opinion research foundation established to advance education by commissioning, conducting and disseminating to the public accessible and impartial statistical data, research and policy analysis on economics, political science, philanthropy, public administration, domestic and international affairs and other socio-economic issues of importance to Canada and its world.

INDEX

Part One: Growing number, but still a minority, say Canada giving ‘too much’ support to Ukraine

• Half of Conservatives say Canada too supportive

• Americans more likely to say their country has given too much

• How long should Canada offer support?

Part Two: Ukraine in NATO, Canada as peacekeepers

Part One: Growing number, but still a minority, say Canada giving ‘too much’ support to Ukraine

New Prime Minister Mark Carney and Opposition Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre have both made statements in recent weeks re-iterating Canada’s support of Ukraine as each leads his party into an expected federal election campaign. And while tariffs and Trump are top of mind, attention paid to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia is at its highest level since the conflict began, buoyed by an explosive Oval Office meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the American president and vice president .

To date, Canada has offered more than $20 billion in aid to Ukraine through various mechanisms since 2022, including military, humanitarian, and financial aid. The largest group of Canadians (39%) say that Canada has given an appropriate amount of support to Ukraine, though a growing group say their country has been too generous (28%). One-in-five (20%) would have Canada offer more support:

In terms of specific forms of aid, there has been a shift in public opinion. The same number would target Russia with economic sanctions now (63%) as said this in March 2022 when the conflict had just begun (64%), but support for humanitarian aid has dropped 17 points. There has also been a downward trend in support for lethal aid from Canada in the form of military equipment, from 48 per cent support to 38 per cent. That said, this 38 per cent is a 10-point increase compared to last year, reflecting renewed interest:

Half of Conservatives say Canada too supportive

There is a segment who feel the country is givinga too much to support Ukraine: Conservative Party supporters, 52 per cent of whom say Canada has been “too generous” with its support. Eight per cent of Liberals and 15 per cent of NDP voters feel the same:

Americans more likely to say their country has given too much

Canada’s southern neighbour, the U.S., has also provided significant support to Ukraine throughout the war. There has been disputes over the true dollar figure – including by U.S. President Donald Trump who has claimed his country has spent more than $300 billion US – but the U.S. has spent more than $100 billion US since the start of the war. However, of late, further aid appears to be tied at whether Zelenksyy says his “pleases” and “thank yous”. The U.S. temporarily suspended aid to Ukraine after the aforementioned explosive incident in the White House where Vice President JD Vance accused Zelenskyy of not being grateful enough for the support the U.S. had given him in front of the gathered media.

Two-in-five (37%) Americans, including two-thirds (64%, see detailed tables) of Republicans, believe their country is providing too much support to Ukraine. However, there are more Americans (45%) who say either the U.S. has sent “the right amount” (22%) or “not enough” (23%). Canadians are less likely to believe their country has sent too much to Ukraine throughout the war by comparison:

How long should Canada offer support?

Throughout the war, the plurality opinion among Canadians is that Canada should continue providing military assistance to Ukraine “for as long as it takes”. That holds true now, with two-in-five (38%) saying that weapons and equipment from Canada should flow as long as Ukraine is fighting Russia. There is a small minority of one-in-12 (8%) who put a more limited time frame of one year on Canadian support. And one-quarter (25%) of Canadians either want Ukraine to negotiate for peace now (21%) or Canada to stop providing aid (4%) regardless of what is going on in the conflict:

Part Two: Ukraine in NATO, Canada as peacekeepers

Ukraine has long requested to join NATO in order to receive the military support of that alliance. Since the war broke out in 2022, NATO allies have offered immense levels of support but have not allowed for membership. US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said recently that his country does not support Ukraine admission as a part of the peace process with Russia. Russian officials have also indicated that Ukraine must be excluded from NATO as a condition of any potential peace deal.

If a majority of Canadians had their way, Ukraine would have been allowed into the alliance three years ago:

The war has entered into a new phase with discussions for the first time since 2022 of at least a potential ceasefire. Other countries have begun to evaluate what that would potentially look like, including the placement of foreign troops inside Ukraine to keep the peace. Former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said “everything is on the table” for his country to “keep a lasting peace” in Ukraine, including potentially sending Canadian troops as peacekeepers in the country. Russia has taken a firm stance that it would not accept peacekeeping troops from NATO countries as part of any ceasefire or peace deal.

Three-in-five (60%) Canadians support the idea of Canadian troops playing a peacekeeping role in Ukraine. Three-in-ten (29%), including half (51%) of likely Conservative voters, are opposed. Notably, throughout the war, Conservative voters were less likely to support Canadian aid to Ukraine. Opposition to further support by Conservatives also grew significantly as the war progressed.

Related: Ukraine Invasion: Canadian attention, and Conservative support, plummets two years into conflict

Survey Methodology:

The Angus Reid Institute conducted an online survey from Feb. 27 to March 3, 2025 among a representative randomized sample of 2,005 Canadian adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

ARI conducted a second online survey from Feb. 27 to March 3, 2025 among a representative randomized sample of 2,005 American adults who are members of Angus Reid Forum USA. For comparison purposes only, a probability sample of this size would carry a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding. The survey was self-commissioned and paid for by ARI.

For detailed results for Canadian respondents by age, gender, region, education, and other demographics, click here.

For detailed results for American respondents, by age, gender, region, education, and other demographics, click here.