Saskatchewan residents brace for potential trade impacts from U.S. election

It’s election day south of the border and even if Saskatoon residents aren’t casting ballots, many are watching the outcome closely and bracing for impact.

It’s election day south of the border and even if Saskatoon residents aren’t casting ballots, many are watching the outcome closely and bracing for impact.

The U.S. election will have a significant effect on Saskatchewan, according to a public policy professor at the University of Saskatchewan.

“If Donald Trump becomes the president of the United States again, we're entering into a period of considerable uncertainty and volatility. He’s been talking about tariffs and protectionist efforts,” said Ken Coates, Professor Emeritus at the Johnson-Shoyama Graduate School of Public Policy.

Another potential threat, if the Democrats and Kamala Harris win, is how Trump supporters will react to the loss. The 2021 attack on the capital in Washington D.C. is still fresh on the minds there. According to Coates, a Harris victory carries its own set of concerns.

“It's actually not all that clear what Kamala Harris’s policies are. Basically, it's a continuation of Joe Biden and what they call Biden-omics. Nobody really knows what that is. It’s very vague, we're going to spend a whole bunch of money on a whole bunch of things and hope things work,” he said.

Jason Aebig, the head of Saskatoon’s Chamber of Commerce, agrees it’s a consequential election for our city and Saskatchewan as a whole, with both candidates addressing issues in their campaigns that directly affect the provincial economy.

“So in one way, shape or form, when we wake up, tomorrow, the folks who lay awake thinking about this are going to be thinking about trade barriers, impact to our energy sector and domestic agriculture, and what that means for all of us,” Aebig said.