Canadians acknowledge the importance of engaging economically with Asia but appear uneasy about acting on further opportunities in the region, according to an Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APF) report released Thursday.
APF’s annual national opinion poll gauging Canadians’ attitudes toward working with Asia dropped considerably in 2013. The poll found that significantly fewer people in this country consider Canada to be a part of the Asia Pacific region, dropping to 18%, 11 points lower than in 2012.
“The conflicted attitudes of Canadians make for a more difficult environment to deepen political and economic ties with Asia,” said APF president and CEO Yuen Pau Woo.
“There is a need for stronger leadership on Asia from government, business and civil society. This will only happen if ‘Asia strategies’ are a priority and if organizations invest in the skills, knowledge and experiences that are needed to be successful in Asia.”
The majority of respondents (54%) favoured of building pipelines to transport natural gas to ports on Canada’s west coast for export to Asia. The poll found, however, that fewer Canadians feel a sense of urgency when it comes to taking advantage of the need for energy resources in Asian countries (53% in 2013, down eight points from 61% in 2012).
The survey found that Canadians feel that China is the most important country for Canada’s prosperity (45%).
