What are Canadians’ perceptions of US Politics? For me, at least, US politics are like reality TV: high drama, memorable sound bites, and elaborate character-building. In my opinion, US politics are more interesting and have significant implications for Canadian daily life. I’d venture to say that Canadians are almost as divided on US politics as Americans. 

For starters, US politics are much more engaging than Canadian politics, and there’s no avoiding them. Here in Canada, more people watched the US electoral debates (about 18 million) than Canadian ones (around 8 million). This correlates with my own experience just chatting with friends. US politics comes up at lunch with friends,  in class with teachers, in the car with parents, and at family dinners. And why not? Clips from televised debates go viral, and even I was glued to my screen during the US electoral debate.  Meanwhile, I wonder how many people outside of Canada know who our Prime Minister and Official Leader of the Opposition are (Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre). To be fair, I definitely didn’t tune in to the debate between Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in the 2015, 2019, or 2021 elections.  

My second perception about US politics is that they have big implications for Canadians’ lives. With more than $3 billion in trade crossing the Canada-U.S. border daily, whoever occupies the Oval Office next is sure to bring major impacts on Canadian economics and diplomacy. Even when Canadians travel abroad, we are likely to be mistaken for Americans, and this has led to the tradition of affixing a Canadian maple leaf on a backpack to be properly identified. It has helped to smooth international travel relations, and I feel that this tradition may continue while Trump is in the Oval Office. 

The third perception I have is that the US result will influence how Canadians vote when we go to the polls. The Liberal party (led by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau) aligns more closely with the Democrats, while the Conservatives (Official Opposition) are more like the Republicans.  So, it made sense when a recent poll showed that 38% of Canadians would vote for Poilievre if Trump won, but the votes flipped to Trudeau if Harris won. So, we are literally going to go into our elections with a stacked deck.

From where I stand, Canadian perspectives on US politics seem almost as divided and passionate as Americans' views. I’ve seen this within my family, within my community, and in the news. As we stand now, knowing the election outcome, what remains to be seen is how both countries react.