A majority of Canadians think it should be illegal for Canadian citizens to fight for the United States military, a new survey commissioned by The Maple shows.
According to the survey, which was conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights for The Maple, 55 per cent “agree” or “strongly agree” that it should be illegal for Canadian citizens to serve in the U.S. military. Twenty-eight per cent “disagree” or “strongly disagree” that it should be illegal to do so.
Overall, 47 per cent agree or strongly agree that it should be illegal for Canadian citizens to serve in the military of any foreign government.
This means that more Canadians agree that it should be illegal to serve in the U.S. military in specific than in the militaries of foreign governments in general by a margin of 8 percentage points.
Fifty-four per cent agree or strongly agree it should be illegal for Canadian citizens to serve in the Israeli military. The Maple has published a separate article focusing on that result specifically. Meanwhile, 44 per cent agree or strongly agree it should be illegal to join the Ukrainian military.
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The survey was conducted online between March 27 and March 30 with a sample size of 1,546 randomly selected adults. The results did not show significant variations across demographic and regional cohorts.
Slightly more of those aged 55 and over strongly agree that serving in the U.S. military should be made illegal for Canadian citizens (36 per cent) than those aged between 18 and 34 who feel the same way (28 per cent). Overall, though, a majority of both cohorts (59 and 56 per cent, respectively) agree that it should be illegal.
The Maple selected the three countries for the survey on the basis that they are Canadian allies who are currently engaged in combat.
Under the Foreign Enlistment Act, Canadians are only prohibited from fighting for non-state forces, designated terrorist organizations and militaries of states that are at war with a Canadian ally.
The survey data comes weeks after the U.S. and Israel launched their ongoing war on Iran, an attack that most Canadians do not support.
A Leger poll conducted in March showed 58 per cent of Canadians oppose the strikes, which to date have killed at least 1,937 people in Iran. Only 25 per cent of Canadians support the U.S.-Israeli bombing campaign.
As well, U.S. President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and turn it into the 51st American state since taking office in January 2025. As recently as March, Trump referred to Prime Minister Mark Carney as the “future Governor of Canada.”
Trump also made threats to occupy Greenland using military force, although he has since backed off from such comments.
A Nanos poll commissioned by Bloomberg in February showed 55 per cent of Canadians consider the U.S. to be the biggest threat to the security of Canada, far ahead of China (15 per cent) and Russia (14 per cent).
In a January Ipsos poll conducted for Global News, 56 per cent said they are fearful that Trump may try to use military force against Canada.
As The Maple reported last year, Canadian views of the U.S. in general have been trending negatively for decades.
Alex Cosh
To serve in the U.S. military, an individual must be a U.S. citizen or green card holder. However, there are no precise figures for how many Canadian citizens currently serve in the U.S. military.
According to the advocacy group Veterans for New Americans, there were 31,000 Canadian-born U.S. army veterans living in the U.S. in 2016.
As reported by The Maple earlier this year, human rights lawyers have called on the Canadian government to track how many of its citizens may be serving in foreign militaries or law enforcement agencies — including the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency — and to interrogate those individuals when they return to Canada.
Via Pollara: “From March 27 to March 30, 2026, Pollara Strategic Insights conducted an online survey of a randomly- selected sample of N=1,546 adult (18+) Canadians. The dataset has been weighted according to the most current gender, age, and regional Census data, to ensure the sample reflects the actual population of adult Canadians. Online surveys do not permit the application of a margin of error. A probability sample of N=1,546 carries a margin of error of ±2.5%, 19 times out of 20. The margin of error is larger for sub-segments. Pollara Strategic Insights is a member of the Canadian Research Insights Council (CRIC), and this research was conducted in compliance with CRIC standards.”
