Americans in Canada say midterm wins bring relief, but trust in the U.S. will take a long time to rebuild
Democrats took the House and Senate, and two Americans who moved north say they welcome the result, though neither expects Canada-U.S. ties to recover soon. Ottawa's trade fight continues.
The day's top stories, food & events — every morning at 7. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lucia Lloyd moved from Virginia to Canada in 2019, the day Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Now an Anglican priest in Bowmanville, Ont., she says she feels "a huge sense of relief" at the Democratic sweep of Tuesday's midterm elections, which she hopes will put a check on Donald Trump's powers.
She does not expect the damage to the relationship to be quickly undone. "There's a lot of work still to be done. I think it's going to take a long time," she said. Lloyd, who is in Canada on a work permit with a permanent residency application being processed, said she does not have to fear being picked up by "masked federal agents" as many immigrants in the U.S. do.
Kate Kitchen, an Ohio-born dual citizen who lives in Peterborough, Ont., watched the results past midnight and said she was "shocked in a good way" by the Democratic wins in the House and Senate. She is hopeful about the long-run repair of close economic and cultural ties, but expects Canadian distrust of the U.S. to persist for some time.
Matthew Lebo, a Western University political scientist who studies U.S. politics, said he is "more optimistic today than a week ago."
The trade fight is still costing both sides money. Canada's counter-tariffs on U.S. goods took effect Sept. 8. The U.S. has also collected duties on Canadian goods, and U.S. import bans on some Canadian alcohol, dairy and motorcycles have been imposed.
Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Ottawa's push to diversify trade will not change as Democrats take control of Congress, and that recent talks with the Trump administration have been productive. Trump has said he would use "tremendous" veto powers if his party lost the midterms.
Published reports say some Canadians still avoid cross-border travel and U.S.-made products, and one said they would need "quite a lot of change" before travelling to the U.S. again.
