Keith Baldrey

Biden’s looming departure throws the U.S. presidential contest into massive uncertainty and the vote is less than three months from now. …Polls over the years have shown Trump is not popular in Canada and certainly not in B.C., but his support has inched up over time. …The difference in how [the leaders] are viewed by the Canadian electorate may more likely be based on personalities than policies. That’s because the most contentious of all U.S. policies that affect Canada and B.C. are usually related to foreign trade, and both Trump and Biden have had similar policies when it comes to protectionism. Trump greatly increased the number of economic tariffs and penalties on Canadian goods and Biden, for the most part, left them largely in place (his administration continued the decades-old softwood lumber dispute with B.C.). Harris, for her part, has voiced support for protectionist policies as well. Protectionist measures from both U.S. parties appear to be here to stay, much to Canada and B.C.’s potential detriment.