The Nanos Number: Canada-U.S. security ties

Nik Nanos digs beneath the numberson CBC News Network's Power & Politics to get at the political, economic and social forces that shape our lives.

This week: How do Canadians and Americans feel about closer cooperation to deal with possible securitythreats?

A recent Nanos-SUNY North American Monitorreport, usingparallel representative online samples of 1,000 Canadians and 1,000 Americans, found that fully two-thirds of Americans are in favour of closer cooperation on security between Canada and theUnited States.

Canadians do not seem to be as keen to strengthen ties with the U.S. when it comes to national security. Only 54 per cent responded that they want closer ties to the U.S.

The online surveys were conducted on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, 2012, a week before Canada's moveto close the Iranian embassy here.

"For the Americans, they see the Canadians as natural partners. For a lot of Canadians we feel that maybe we're neglected or taken for granted," Nik Nanos told Power & Politics host Evan Solomon.

But, Nanos noted,the demand for cooperation on both sides seems to be waning.

"When we look at the trend over the lasteight years, the further we get away from 9/11 the less the intensity of, what I'll say, demand for cooperation both in Canada and the United States," Nanos said.

However, with a majority of Canadians still supporting closer security ties with the U.S., Nanos said this is an issue the Harper government can use to resonate with voters.

Recognized as one of Canada's top research experts, Nik Nanos provides numbers-driven counsel to seniorexecutives and major organizations. He leads the analyst team at Nanos, is a Fellow of the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association and a Research Associate Professor with SUNY (Buffalo).