Twenty-six per cent of respondents to the survey for the Toronto Globe and Mail newspaper and CTV television identified Obama as the politician they "admire most".
In second place was conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper at 21 per cent, followed by Obama's former rival for Democratic nomination, Hillary Clinton, who easily bested all Canadian opposition leaders with 16 per cent.
"It's one of those relatively rare moments when we look south of the border at their politics with something approaching envy," said pollster Peter Donolo of Strategic Counsel, which conducted the poll.
The Republican candidate for the White House, John McCain, was admired by just three per cent of respondents to the poll that was published on Monday, the eve of Canada's national holiday. Strategic Counsel questioned 1,000 respondents between June 12 and 28.