Trump Won: Now What?

Laura Steiner/  Online Editor

I predicted in August this could happen.  It would happen through a communications’ strategy that would see Donald Trump keep his name at the top of the news cycle.  And name recognition counts for a lot in politics.  Trump was showing himself to be a racist, misogynistic, temperamental, ignorant person.  Not exactly the figure I’d want to have their hand on the nuclear codes, or as the leader of the free world.  I wanted to be wrong with my prediction.

Hillary Clinton demonstrated herself to be the total opposite.  She actually had plans for America.  The problem was she couldn’t talk about them very much because she was too busy reacting to Trump’s increasingly outrageous comments.  Her flaw ended up being her past, and Trump realized that early on and used it.  She may have done nothing to deserve the nickname “crooked Hillary”, but there was enough baggage there to suggest there may have been ethically questionable activity at the very least.   America was ready for a female president, maybe not this woman.

So what now? The answer is not “move to Canada.”  Becoming a citizen here is a time-consuming (at about 5 years)  and at times difficult process.  You have to first become a landed immigrant, and then go through more steps including a full security check, a citizenship exam, and take an oath before a judge.  Then you’re a full citizen.  It’s challenging to establish yourself in a new life, and a new country.  And you can forget refugee status; we don’t take many in from the good old US of A. Canada is hard work, but it’s worth it.

Now we take a few deep breaths.  We allow ourselves to be a little bit sad at what might have been, and take in the reality of a Trump Presidency.  We wait and see because little will happen right away.  And we quietly plan.   His rhetoric during the campaign regarding the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) spells trouble for Canada if he goes through with it.  Diversifying trade may not only offset some damage, but set the country up well for additional investments.  Trump also has said he might approve Keystone Pipeline which would help Alberta.  There are some positives for Canada long-term.

Now we remember that election campaigns are full of rhetoric, and promises.  Administrations are forced to be more practical, and abandon some of the more controversial platform planks, while amending others.  Donald Trump’s win was a surprise, but it might not be so bad.