Fake headline on Canadians blaming Trump for economy originated as satire

"New Poll: 89% of Canadians Say Donald Trump Is to Blame for Canada's Economy," reads the purported headline, shared to Facebook on May 9, 2026.

The apparent screenshot includes a logo implying that the headline was published by the public broadcaster CBC.

Similar posts sharing the alleged news report spread across Facebook, Instagram and X. Commentary attached to the images either decried the alleged media bias or bashed Canadians' views on the economy.

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Screenshot of a Facebook post taken May 12, 2026

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Screenshot of an X post taken May 12, 2026

Since Trump took office in 2025, Canada has distanced itself from its historic ally, as the US president imposed tariffs and made comments disparaging Canadian sovereignty. The brittle relations between the two countries have been the source of numerous false claims.

The headline about most Canadians saying Trump is to blame for the economy is similarly fake.

Reverse image searches revealed the visual was originally posted April 20 to X by an account with the handle "@SatireSquadHQ" (archived here).

While the profile calls itself "The Official Record," its fake, satirical posts have been at the root of several false claims previously fact-checked by AFP (archived here).

Keyword searches did not return any matching headlines on CBC's website.

The governor of the Bank of Canada, Tiff Macklem, said in April 2026 that inflation caused by the war in the Middle East may prompt the central bank to raise interest rates. The Canadian rate held in April, but many people in the country report cutting back on spending to meet rising costs.

In May, University of Toronto researchers analyzing cell phone data reported a 42 percent drop in Canadian travel to US metropolitan hubs (archived here).

Read more of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada here.