Prime Minister Justin Trudeau prorogued parliament on Jan. 6 and sent the Liberal Party of Canada into a search for his successor, but that hasn't meant any slowdown in cross-border challenges from the Trump administration in the interim. Is Canada equipped to respond?

New data from the non-profit Angus Reid Institute finds many Canadians believing parliament should be recalled, but not to deal with Trump - they want to head right into an election.

Indeed, half of Canadians say parliament should resume sitting and an election should be triggered, as has been threatened by the Conservatives, New Democrats, and the Bloc Québécois. The other half aren't so sure an election is needed and are divided between wanting to keep parliament prorogued until March or to bring it back but only if no election is called.

This divide in public opinion helps to portray the outlook of the country right now. The domestic political landscape is anything but unified, with fissures at the provincial and federal level in dealing with Trump.

After Alberta Premier Danielle Smith declined to add her name to a joint statement from provincial leaders in the face of threats from the U.S. President, many have singled her out for not being a "team player".  Most Canadians (55%) say they would prefer their provincial leadership put the country first, but three-in-10 disagree, including half in Alberta (52%) and 41 per cent in Saskatchewan.

More Key Findings:

• Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre has recently called Canada "weaker than ever" in his statement asking that parliament be recalled. Half of Canadians (53%) agree with this statement, while two-in-five (41%) disagree

• That said, Canadians are also five times as likely to say that public statements about Canada's weakness are "harmful" (51%) to negotiations, rather than helpful (11%). A plurality of would-be CPC voters say it makes no difference (46%) while the vast majority of all other voters say it hurts Canada's position.

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