CNC instructor says new US presidency bodes well for Canada-US relations

CNC Political Science Instructor Chris Beach says a change in the presidency will likely bode well for Canadian-US relations following an election south of the border that so many Canadians paid close attention to.

“It’s the most influential country in the world: economically, foreign policy, militarily, culturally you could argue as well,” explained Beach. “We’re their most important trading partner, and probably their most important foreign relationship. It’s the longest undefended border in the world. When you consider all of that, there’s a lot of good reasons why Canadians watch American politics.”

And because of those intricate relationships, what happens in the United States does have an impact on us here north of the border. Especially with Kamala Harris having moved to Canada when she was 12, Beach believes that is a definite positive for our country.

“Even in the last two decades, 25 years, we’ve had presidential candidates in America that haven’t even known the name of the Canadian Prime Minister,” says Beach. “Definitely, that’s not the case now with Trudeau being an international figure. But having someone in the White House at the executive level who has lived in Canada, has those relationships, has a greater understanding about what we’re about and what’s important to us, you’ve got to see that as a positive.”

While Beach acknowledges Biden’s plan to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline, he did say there’s one argument that if that project does get cancelled, then the demand for existing Canadian-based energy sources may go up. Here in Northern BC, a healthy US economy also tends to benefit us.

“If the American economy gets rolling again, it’s housing starts. BC, especially our area, is still so heavily influenced by the forest industry, that usually is the number one factor, and one of the key facts because if there’s a lot of housing and a lot of construction, so if the American economy is rolling that usually benefits the resource sector in Canada to a great degree.”

The day after the election, the United States became the first and only country in the world to withdraw from the Paris climate change pact.

Biden has promised to put the U.S. back into the agreement as soon as possible, and that, plus his own domestic environmental policies, could be a boon for Canada, including by opening markets for Canadian clean energy technology.

Trump’s years in office were marked by turbulence in Canada-U. S. trade relations, including the rewriting of the North American free trade deal.

A Biden victory likely means an end to the persistent threat of the steel and aluminum tariffs that Trump imposed on Canada in 2018, using executive powers under U.S. trade law that gave the president the right to impose them on national-security grounds.

But until Joe Biden officially gets sworn in on January 20th, it’s too early to know just how we Canadians may be impacted by a change in US presidency, but Beach believes the relations between the two countries will only improve from here.

by Ethan Ready, files from Canadian Press

CNC instructor says new US presidency bodes well for Canada-US relations

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