Few elected leaders create a more polarized reaction than U.S. president-elect Donald Trump.
The combative, divisive celebrity billionaire-turned-president evokes nearly equal amounts of criticism and admiration. He's heading back to the White House, which he occupied from 2016-2020, after winning the Nov. 5 U.S. presidential election.
Unlike his victory in 2016, this election win wasn't close. And he won the popular vote this time, which he didn't do in 2016 or 2020, when he lost.
Millions were hoping that his vast misdeeds, not just during his term as president but before and after, would keep him from the White House this time around. His supporters ignored his flagrant snubs to democracy – his bogus claims the 2020 presidential election was rigged, his failure to participate in a peaceful transition of power and his stoking of animosity prior to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection in Washington.
Many of his supporters will believe everything he says, no matter how outlandish, and they'll tell you he's being railroaded by the justice system.
Criticisms of the Democrats' failed leadership during the past four years are far more legitimate. They've mismanaged the economy. Joe Biden was a good steady hand as a vice-president during Barack Obama's eight-year reign as president, but he wasn't suited to being president.
If Kamala Harris had been given more opportunities to be in the public eye during her time as vice-president, she likely would have had a better chance to defeat Trump. But you didn't hear much about her since Biden won the 2020 election, leaving her as a great unknown for voters.
And the Democrats should have never given Biden a chance to seek a second term as president. It's a damning statement of the party that all they had to oppose Trump was Hilary Clinton in 2016 and Biden in 2020, and if not for his embarrassing performance in the initial presidential debate a few months ago, Biden would have been the candidate again.
A Trump defeat might have brought an end to his grip on the Republican Party. While he won't be able to seek another term as president in 2028, it will still be his party beyond the next four years.
Trump's victory means a return to the chaotic leadership that we saw from 2016-2020. Abrasive, unpredictable and often without direction. For Canada, it means a rockier relationship with the global superpower to the south and our largest trading partner.
During Trump's first term, his relationship with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was actually pretty good for the first 12-18 months; ironically, it was likely better than the relationship that Trump would have had with Trudeau's predecessor, Stephen Harper, who was ousted as PM in 2015. But Trump's relationship with Trudeau deteriorated over time, which was predictable. Don't expect Trump and Trudeau to be on friendly terms for as long as Trudeau is prime minister.
Trump has already said he wants to impose 10 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods imported to the U.S., to create a better deal for the U.S., and he has said he wants to once again renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.
Trump's election should be good news for the oil and gas sector, although his victory will undoubtedly hinder Canada's competitiveness even more, thanks to policies introduced by the Government of Canada under Trudeau's leadership.
There's also no guarantee that Canada's relationship with the U.S. will be better than it is now, even if the Conservatives win the next federal election.
We've been through Trump's leadership before, but the world is in a much more unstable position than it was eight years ago, thanks to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the war between Israel and Hamas, and other global conflicts taking place.
There's always going to be strife in the world, but right now feels more difficult. Trump isn't the type who's going to step in and diffuse these situations.
So buckle up. The next four years won't be easy.
