A recent poll ranks Canada as the country with the most positive influence in the world. 28,000 people in 27 countries were asked to rate 12 countries as either having a positive or negative worldwide influence. Canada’s overall influence rating topped the list with 54 per cent of respondents rating it mostly positive and only 14 per cent mostly negative. Japan came in at a close second with an identical positive rating but a higher negative rating.
Canada receives particularly favourable ratings from among the country's core allies, who perceive Canada as a 'reliable, influential member of the group of nations,' according GlobeScan Inc., the conductor of the BBC survey. Two thirds or more of Australians, Americans, Britons, and Germans rate Canada as having a mainly positive influence. Canada's biggest fan is France where 78 per cent of respondents rate it favourably. Even beyond the core allies, perceptions of Canada remain solid. Residents of China, Kenya, Nigeria, and the Philippines gave Canada a 60 per cent or better positive influence rating.
A 52 per cent positive rating last year in a similar BBC poll had Canada in third place behind the EU and Japan. Sliding into first place this year, Canada continues to demonstrate its positive influence on the world.