Canadians are most worried about the country's trade dependence on the United States when it comes to economic concerns, according to a new survey by UPS Canada and Angus Reid.

The survey, which was conducted on Oct. 16, showed 36 per cent of respondents said they believe that dependence is the primary cause of Canada's current economic troubles, compared to the 23-per-cent proportion seen just six weeks earlier.

This was compared to just 11 per cent of Canadians saying the recent economic downturn was because of the loonie's recent appreciation and its impact on the trade relationship between Canada and the U.S., and only seven per cent who said it was because of tightness in the U.S. credit markets.

UPS Canada president Mike Tierney noted that the company had expected "a much higher degree of concern related to U.S. credit unease" when the most recent poll had been conducted in the middle of the financial crisis south of the border, compared to when the first survey was conducted in August.

"Clearly Canadians are becoming more aware of the dangers associated with limiting trade activity to the U.S.," said Mr. Tierney in a statement.

However, he noted that 53 per cent of respondents still said globalization has been beneficial to the country, "which could translate into the broadening of that activity beyond North America's borders."

Despite the low percentage of people who thought the credit crunch was a major cause of Canada's economic worries, the report noted that figure has jumped from the one per cent seen in the first poll in late August, just before the start of the crisis.

The poll looked at the answers of 1,033 Canadians and has a margin of error of +/- 3.1 per cent.