U.S. election: Will Harris, Trump foreign policy plans help or hurt Canada?

The next U.S. president will have to respond to a growing number of crises abroad that have a direct American and Canadian impact.

The world is watching the U.S. presidential election closely for clues on how a Kamala Harris or Donald Trump presidency will respond to mounting global challenges and security threats — and Canada could find itself in the spotlight in either scenario.

Neither Trump nor Harris have made foreign policy a centrepiece of their campaigns, and polling has shown international affairs are relatively low on voters’ list of concerns compared to the economy and immigration.

Yet the next U.S. president will have to respond to a growing number of crises abroad that have a direct American interest: ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, foreign interference threats posed by Russia, China, Iran, India and other countries, brewing unrest in the Indo-Pacific and climate change among them.

There are open questions, too, about how Harris and Trump will approach longstanding alliances like NATO and NORAD, and whether Canada will be put on notice to step up even more on defence after facing pressure on spending during the Biden and past Trump administration.

Here’s what Harris and Trump have each proposed or said about their foreign policy stances, and how Canada may fit in — or find itself out in the cold.

In explaining her foreign policy views, Harris has pointed to her record as vice-president in advancing U.S. President Joe Biden’s reliance on allies and global alliances.

She says her meetings and discussions with world leaders have prepared her for the presidency and shown those leaders she is ready to preserve U.S. leadership on the world stage.

“Vice-President Harris will make sure that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership,” her campaign policy outline says.