The U.S. presidential election is just two weeks away and while Canadians may not get to vote, there’s no question in the mind of Okanagan College (OC) professor Dr. Rosalind Warner that the result will have an impact on us.
“There are a lot of things about the U.S. election we should be concerned about,” Warner said.
Warner, also the head of the college’s political science department, is one of eight presenters of OC’s speaker series.
In her talk titled Off the Rails: The U.S. Presidential Election, she isn’t forecasting the outcome; instead she’s providing insight into how a Republican or Democratic president would affect Canada.
“We should be concerned a little bit about … immigration, concerned with trade and free trade agreements. Canada and the United States have a very close economic relationship and depending on who gets to be the president in the next election, it could have a huge effect,” Werner said.
About 50 people attended the lecture in Penticton on Monday night.
They heard Warner provide insights into the election.
While some consider it to be a one-of-a-kind year in American politics, she argues there are some recurring themes.
“The period between 1919 and 1939 … is called the 20 years’ crisis. It was a time of transition, a time of change, a time of upheaval,” Warner said.
Warner suggests the U.S. may again be in a 20-year crisis that started in 2008.
“We are probably only about barely half way through it,” she said.
And with two historically unpopular candidates, there’s great interest from around the world in what the outcome will be.
“It makes one start to wonder if in fact the United States is engaging in some kind of imploding exercise,” Warner said.
Regardless of the outcome of November’s election, Warner is hammering home her point that those of us who are north of the border should pay close attention.
“There are important issues, important movement in the United States right now that everyone around the world should pay attention to. So, definitely Canadians should care what happens on Nov. 8.”
Okanagan College’s Penticton speaker series will take place on Monday evening’s between 7:00 and 8:30 p.m. until Dec. 5.
Admission is by donation with proceeds going to support an emergency bursary fund for OC students.