The race for U.S. president will be over in 11 months’ time, but the damage Donald Trump has done to his brand in Canada could endure well past that.
A large majority of Torontonians and Vancouverites want the Trump name gone from buildings in their cities, a new poll from Angus Reid shows.
Seventy-one per cent of respondents in the city of Toronto and 60 per cent of respondents in metro Vancouver say they want the Trump name removed. Nationwide, 56 per cent of respondents say dump the Trump name, while 44 per cent say the name should stay.
The poll was taken after the Republican presidential candidate, billionaire real estate mogul and reality show star called for a ban on Muslims entering the U.S.
There is a Trump International Hotel & Tower in Toronto as well as Vancouver. Neither are owned by Trump, who licenses his name to other developers. Both are mixed-use hotel and condo buildings, targeted at tourists and foreign condo investor-owners.
Municipal politicians in both Toronto and Vancouver called for the Trump name to be removed from their cities following Trump's comments earlier this month.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on stage at the Republican Presidential Debate, hosted by CNN, at The Venetian Las Vegas on December 15, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Getty Images)
The poll found some difference in opinion on the issue between urban and rural residents. While urbanites were split 55-45 in favour of dumping the Trump brand, rural residents were split evenly, 50-50.
The poll also suggests that the Trump brand as a whole may be tainted in Canada. Fifty-five per cent of respondents said the Trump name makes a hotel less appealing to them, while only 10 per cent said it made the hotel more appealing.
The poll found that 67 per cent of Canadians disagree with Trump’s call for a total ban on Muslims entering the U.S., with 49 per cent saying they “strongly disagree.”
A third — 33 per cent — of respondents said they agreed with Trump’s call for a ban. Thirteen per cent said they “strongly agree.”