Canadians Prefer Donald Trump to Justin Trudeau On Economy

Canadians would rather have their finances managed by Donald Trump —a man who doesn't understand the difference between a strong and weak dollar—than Justin Trudeau, according to a new poll.

The poll, conducted by Mainstreet Research for the National Post, said that while Canadians prefer our prime minister's style when it comes to honestly, leadership, compassion, and intelligence, 53 percent of Canadians favour Trump's stance on economy—a 10 percent bump over those who approve of Trudeau's economic policies. Furthermore, the poll, conducted the night of Trump's inauguration, put the president's disapproval rating on the economy at 22 percent versus 41 percent for Trudeau.

Read more: Justin Trudeau and Donald Trump Are Going to Be Hilariously, Dangerously Mismatched Roommates

It seems Canadians have bought into Trump's whole "I'm really rich," shtick, but running bankrupt casinos and a fake university doesn't actually mean he knows shit about how to run a country's finances. Case in point, Trump called his national security advisor Mike Flynn at 3 AM this morning (can someone give this man some Ambien?) to ask if a strong or weak dollar was better for the American economy. Flynn, a former army general, reportedly didn't know either.

Trump has since been dragged online.

In a nutshell, a strong dollar gives an advantage to Americans travelling abroad or purchasing foreign goods, because their money is worth more. On the flip side, US exports become more expensive, which could have some negative impacts on the economy.

In January, just prior to his inauguration, Trump told the Wall Street Journal "our companies can't compete with [China] now because our currency is too strong. And it's killing us."

Following the remarks, which broke with America's tradition of not having heads of state publicly discuss the value of the dollar, the dollar dropped 2.6 percent, making it the worst January in three decades.

So while Trump may not know what the value of the dollar really means, his verbal diarrhea certainly has the ability to hurt it.

Follow Manisha Krishnan on Twitter.