Tuesday November 11, 2016

Tuesday November 11, 2016 The Issues FacingÊCanadaÊIf Trump Or Clinton Win Canada's neighbour elects a new president Tuesday with either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to take up residence in the White House. Each are proposing different agendas for the U.S. that pose questions, opportunities and challenges to cross-border relations. Hillary Clinton is a known quantity to Canadian officials from her time as a U.S. senator and secretary of state, which has also given her an understanding of Canada's role in the world, says Gordon Giffin, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada: "Sometimes there's too much focus on what we sell back and forth across the 49th parallel and not enough attention to the fact that Canada is quite engaged with the United States all over the world on issues and principles and values that we share. And she knows all of that, so she starts from a pretty strong foundation of engagement with Canada.Õ' As a self-described outsider of American politics, DonaldTrump would have few connections to the Liberal government in the Great White North. Trudeau would have to build a relationship with a man who he has suggested holds different values than himself. And Trump has bashed Canada at various points during the campaign, specifically on health care. Political relationships would be built from scratch. But Trump does have economic advisers familiar with Canada who could guide Trump in cross-border issues, Brock says. Despite Canada's best efforts, Canadian interests could be sidelined while Clinton deals with more pressing domestic issues like resistance to her supreme court nominees and congressional Republicans who will work to thwart her agenda at every turn. Coupled with her international obligations like involvement in the Middle East and Asia, Clinton may be hard-pressed to find a lot of time for major new issues in the Canada-U.S. Relationship. Given Canadian public opinion polls that show respondents favour Clinton over Trump, it's not farfet

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator –Tuesday November 11, 2016

The Issues Facing Canada If Trump Or Clinton Win

Canada’s neighbour elects a new president Tuesday with either Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump to take up residence in the White House. Each are proposing different agendas for the U.S. that pose questions, opportunities and challenges to cross-border relations.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Saturday October 15, 2016 Donald Trump's problem isn't a conspiracy. It's him. This has been a bad week for Donald J. Trump. But what shouldnÕt be lost is that itÕs been a bad week because of Donald J. Trump. ThatÕs not how Trump sees it, of course. In his wild, conspiratorial speechÊyesterday, he blamed a Òconcerted, coordinated, and vicious attackÓ by the media and the Clinton campaign. He explained that his campaign represented an Òexistential threatÓ to Òthose who control the levers of power in WashingtonÓ and Òthe global special interests,Ó and it was their counterattack that was behind his current troubles. If he loses, he said, it will be because the system is Òrigged.Ó The only person who doesnÕt know whatÕs gone wrong for TrumpÕs campaign, it seems, is Donald Trump. None of TrumpÕs errors were forced. None of his problems were out of his control. He wasnÕt buffeted by bad economic news, or a staffer who said something dumb on television, or a change in geopolitics that undercut his campaign. Instead, the last week has been driven by three characteristics that are purely TrumpÕs: his absence of impulse control, his overwhelming desire to be and to seem dominant, and his tendency to lash out counterproductively and personally when attacked. (Continued: Vox)Êhttp://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2016/10/14/13283218/donald-trump-problem-conspiracy USA, election, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, White House, fireworks, explosion, Clintons, Bill Clinton, corruption, baggage

October 15, 2016

Hillary Clinton is a known quantity to Canadian officials from her time as a U.S. senator and secretary of state, which has also given her an understanding of Canada’s role in the world, says Gordon Giffin, a former U.S. ambassador to Canada: “Sometimes there’s too much focus on what we sell back and forth across the 49th parallel and not enough attention to the fact that Canada is quite engaged with the United States all over the world on issues and principles and values that we share. And she knows all of that, so she starts from a pretty strong foundation of engagement with Canada.’’

March 11, 2016

March 11, 2016

As a self-described outsider of American politics, Donald Trump would have few connections to the Liberal government in the Great White North. Trudeau would have to build a relationship with a man who he has suggested holds different values than himself. And Trump has bashed Canada at various points during the campaign, specifically on health care. Political relationships would be built from scratch. But Trump does have economic advisers familiar with Canada who could guide Trump in cross-border issues, Brock says.

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday October 19, 2016 Nearly two-thirds of Canadians approve of Justin TrudeauÕs Liberal government: Ipsos One year since the Liberals won the federal election, two-thirds of Canadians approve of the job Justin TrudeauÕs government has done, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted exclusively for Global News. ÒHeÕs very popular. If you look at leaders in the rest of the world, heÕs got numbers that any of them would envy,Ó said Darrell Bricker, CEO of Ipsos Public Affairs. ÒWeÕre finding 64 per cent of Canadians saying that they basically approve of his performance and the governmentÕs performance.Ó But although Trudeau is popular, his numbers arenÕt that different from the last time Canada elected a new government at the federal level. ÒPeople might say that Justin Trudeau is at an unprecedented level of public support, but we did the same poll with Stephen Harper in 2006 after one year of him being in power and he was at 62, so the difference is only two points, pretty much within the margin of error,Ó said Bricker. ÒSo I think when big change happens, after 10 years somebodyÕs in power, somebody new comes in and they deliver something different, people generally respond well to it. ThatÕs what we saw in the first year of Harper and itÕs what weÕre seeing in the first year of Justin Trudeau.Ó If TrudeauÕs government follows the same kind of public opinion trajectory, theyÕre in for a slow, steady drop: by the 2015 election, the Conservative approval rating had fallen to 41 per cent. (Source: Global News) http://globalnews.ca/news/3008087/nearly-two-thirds-of-canadians-approve-of-justin-trudeaus-liberal-government-poll/ Canada, Justin Trudeau, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, anniversary, popularity, mud slinging, selfie, mountain, map

October 19, 2016

Despite Canada’s best efforts, Canadian interests could be sidelined while Clinton deals with more pressing domestic issues like resistance to her supreme court nominees and congressional Republicans who will work to thwart her agenda at every turn. Coupled with her international obligations like involvement in the Middle East and Asia, Clinton may be hard-pressed to find a lot of time for major new issues in the Canada-U.S. Relationship.

Given Canadian public opinion polls that show respondents favour Clinton over Trump, it’s not farfetched to say the Liberals are hoping the Republican candidate doesn’t win on Tuesday. Giffin says a Trump presidency wouldn’t be a fatal blow to Canada-U.S. relations: The relationship may be a little rough at the outset based on Trump’s tough stances on trade and immigration, but would smooth out over time. Giffin says the relationship itself is bigger than any one president: “It has a momentum and a centre of gravity that sort of drags an administration towards engagement with Canada, which is good.’’ (Huffington Post)