How America’s next president can turn things around for Canada

by Melissa Krikke

Tonight, America will choose its next president. Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton or Republican candidate Donald Trump will begin making changes to the free world on Jan. 20, 2017. The ramifications of America’s vote will be felt throughout the globe, and more specifically, throughout Canada.

“Who is in charge of the United States and what their policies are has a huge impact on Canada,” said Mike Karapita, senior writer for CBC News and professor at Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning. Here’s how these policies could affect Canada.

THE ECONOMICS OF ELECTING A NEW BOSS

            Canada’s trade depends on its southern neighbour. The majority of Canadian exports head to the US. According to CTV News, in 2015, Canada and the US traded $1.6 million in products and services every minute.

           If Donald Trump wins the election tonight America’s trade relations will be facing a huge makeover. Trump said he wouldn’t sign on to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. The trade agreement is between 12 countries (including Canada and Japan) The TPP would decrease trade barriers, allowing Canada to import goods for cheap. Trump also said if elected he would either re-negotiate the North-American free-trade agreement (NAFTA) or break from it. Trump supports the Keystone XL pipeline, a cross-border pipeline project that Obama rejected last year. Trump thinks this will make America rich again. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau supports the Keystone XL pipeline too.

           However, Hillary Clinton isn’t too fond of the TPP or NAFTA either. In 2012, as secretary of state, Clinton was all for the TPP agreement and said it was golden. More recently, Clinton said she wasn’t in favour of the agreement. Canada is interested in the TPP, but the deal still needs to be ratified. In May, Clinton released a statement that said she would renegotiate the terms of NAFTA. Clinton does not support the Keystone XL pipeline.

WHO’S IN YOUR CORNER?   

            If Trump is elected, Canada can expect some tighter guidelines on defence spending. In regards to NATO ( North Atlantic Treaty Organization), Trump said if America’s partners don’t meet their targeted defence spending (that’s 2% of the country’s GDP), America will start withholding support. NATO is political and military alliance between 28 member countries, not backing up another member would be a big deal. Note: Canada is one of those countries that don’t hit their spending targets.

           This isn’t all that different from Hillary Clinton, though, she holds the same stance when it comes to Canada’s defence spending.

A CHANGE IN SEASONS

       If Trump is elected president, there will definitely be some head-butting between him and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on climate change. Recently, Trudeau said that in 2018 he will create a carbon tax on any province that doesn’t price carbon on its own. While Trump tweeted that climate change was basically a huge hoax created by China. Trump also promises to boost the coal industry.

           On the opposite side, Clinton’s environmental platform is similar to Trudeau’s and promises to invest in clean energy.