U.S. expats with Sask. connections watching 'stressful' election closely
Issues top of mind include abortion, immigration, trade and the economy
U.S. expats in Saskatchewan are watching Tuesday's election closely. From the presidential battle to senate races to concerns about unrest in the streets and the rights of women, their attention is locked in.
Heather Ross is originally from Southern California and lives in Saskatoon. Her parents still live in California and she visits them often.
Ross was able to mail in her ballot. She said it was a smooth process because the state of California makes it easy.
"This is even worse. Absolutely more stressful than four years ago," Ross said.
She said she voted for Kamala Harris because of some of Donald Trump's stated plans.
"He's talking about mass deportations, tariffs against other countries, shooting the media," Ross said. "I think if he does half the stuff he's talking about, the world's gonna be in a terrible spot."
She said she will also be watching U.S. Senate races, which could shift the balance of power if the Democrats win a majority. She said state legislatures are also incredibly important.
"Abortion's on the ballot in a lot of places. So seeing what people are going to do about that."
CBC reached out to several Saskatchewan people who previously spoke about supporting the Republicans, but they declined requests to be interviewed.
American in Regina grateful for access to abortion
"I was full of a lot of righteous anger and rage on Friday night when I was wheeled into surgery, because my prognosis in many states would have been death," sais Aurora Marinari, who is originally from Buffalo, N.Y., but now lives in Regina.
Marinari was more than six weeks pregnant when she found out she had an ectopic pregnancy, which means a fertilized egg growing outside the main cavity of the uterus.
"I was at the top of the list for surgeries on Friday. I did not have to wait long at all because my procedure was seen as emergent because the embryo had grown to a certain size," she said. "At any point my fallopian tube could have ruptured and I would have bled out and died."
Marinari said she fears that women's and 2SLGBTQ+ rights will be trampled upon if Trump is re-elected. Marinari said that whatever happens in the U.S. also affects people in Canada. She pointed to MPs and MLAs in Canada who want to restrict access to abortion and reproductive rights.
"I just really hope that Americans make the right decision tomorrow," she said. "I just hope that we can continue to move forward and not backwards."
Rosemary Loeffler grew up in New York, but got her Canadian citizenship in 1976. She lived in La Ronge, Sask., for a long time before moving to Langley, B.C.
She still visits Saskatchewan often to see friends and family in Regina.
"I watch the division in the United States, that really worries me. Growing up there, Americans were really different politically, but they were one, they were Americans," she said. "Now there's a big division and there's a lot more political violence."
Loeffler said she hopes for more unity in the U.S. and less division on political lines.
"I hope that the election results work positively and that the United States is safe," she said. "It's still the country of my birth."
Local implications of the U.S. election
Brian McQuinn, an associate professor of international studies at the University of Regina,, said polarization isn't unique to the U.S.
"If we look at even the elections here in Saskatchewan, we see this sort of urban-rural divide," he said.
McQuinn said this election has been focused less on policy and more on vibes and identity politics. A few issues like abortion, health care and middle-class support are present, but much of it is based on using fear and identity politics to drive voter turnout, he said.
In the end, McQuinn said he's hoping to see a clear winner early on, rather than having the process drag on for weeks.
McQuinn said he doesn't see the U.S. result having a huge impact on the country's trade relationship with Canada. He said Trump previously tore down NAFTA, but then renegotiated a new deal with Canada and Mexico.
"That gives us some protection theoretically from this program of tariffs that he's claiming to bring in," he said.
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