As Americans who are staunchly anti-Trump continue to hit the streets, voicing their devastation with nationwide protests, many Canadians are beginning to worry about how Donald Trump’s campaign promises could reverberate north of the border.
For the United States, and for the rest of the world, changes are coming. Tuesday’s election results leave Congress firmly in the hands of the Republican Party – which will allow them to control the legislation that makes its way through Congress and to the president's desk. This means that Trump will have an easier time pushing through potential changes to policies that will directly affect women, people of colour, the LGBT+ community and other minority groups living in the United States.
But, what does a Trump presidency mean for Canada?
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has proven to be a believer in progressive politics, extended an olive branch to the U.S. president-elect early Wednesday morning releasing a statement congratulating Trump. Later in the day, at an Ottawa WE Day rally, he waved off boos when he mentioned Trump telling the crowd, “The relationship between Canada and the United States is based on shared values and shared hopes and dreams and we will always work well together.”
Will it happen? Canada’s close relationship with the United States is one of the most long standing in the world and despite Trudeau’s assurances, the country will undoubtedly be affected by the election results. Here are a few of the key issues that will have some effect on Canada.
Trade:
Climate Change:
Security And Border Crossing:
Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to deport illegal immigrants from the U.S. and institute “extreme vetting” of Muslim immigrants and refugees. He has also promised to implement a biometric entry-exit visa tracking system at all border crossings. Since the U.S. and Canada work closely together on national security and border issues, this will no doubt affect the Canada’s border control.
If Trump ultimately leaves NAFTA, the flow of goods across the border could be disrupted by tariff and non-tariff regulations, while the flow of people across the border would be disrupted by stiffer immigration controls in the guise of security concerns.
And, there’s Trump’s repeated vows to build an "impenetrable, physical, tall, powerful, beautiful, southern border wall" on the U.S.-Mexico border. As for Canada? He declared a wall on the border of the great white north as too long, and expensive. (That didn’t stop Canadians from poking a little fun at the concept on election night as voting results turned in Trump’s favour.
Keystone XL Pipeline:
Donald Trump may breathe new life into the controversial Keystone XL pipeline. The 1,900-kilometre pipeline from Alberta to Nebraska, which is meant to carry Alberta crude oil to refineries on the U.S. Gulf coast, was thwarted last year under the Obama administration. During the campaign trail, Trump confirmed he would approve TransCanada Corp.’s proposed oil pipeline, but on different terms.
“I would absolutely approve it, 100 percent, but I would want a better deal,” Trump told reporters at a press conference in Bismarck, N.D. where he gave a speech on his energy policies at an oil conference.
On Wednesday, TransCanada, proponent of the pipeline, said it “remains fully committed” to building the line and said it was evaluating ways to engage the new administration on the merits of the project.
The Trump Dodgers:
At around 10:30 pm EST on Tuesday night, just as a Donald Trump presidency was beginning to look likely, the flood of folks trying to find out how to head north was large enough that the Canadian government’s immigrations website crashed. Time will tell how many actually follow through with the threats.
Of course, vows of moving to Canada are nothing new. Throughout the 2016 presidential election dozens of Hollywood’s A-listers stated they were going to take refuge in Canada. At the time Justin Trudeau simply laughed off the notion, saying that it’s common during every U.S. campaign for Americans to threaten to leave if their preferred candidate doesn’t get elected.
Post election? Most of those influential actors, writers, and musicians have shared their disappointment and vowed to stay in the States and fight. Although one artist that seems to be sticking to his promise of escaping Trump's America, is none other than the Doggfather, Snoop Dogg. Yesterday, the rapper took to Instagram, and posted a photo of Toronto's skyline, while asking Drake for a real estate hookup.
