As the intense 2024 U.S. election showdown draws to a close in just days, organizers of U.S. political groups say they are seeing an increase in offers of help and volunteering from residents of Canada.

“I’ve gotten a lot of calls, I mean, I get a lot of calls a day, and I would say probably 10 to 15 percent of the calls I get are from Canadians who want to help,” said Lee Strickland, president of Democrats Abroad Torontotold CityNews.

“Over the last couple of months, since Kamala joined the team, they’re asking themselves, ‘How can I help?’ »

Georganne Burke, head of the Canada section with Overseas Republicanshared a similar sentiment regarding electoral engagement among residents north of the border.

“This election is the first time I’ve seen such interest in helping,” she said.

“One of the things that has changed somewhat in Canada is that more Canadians, especially younger Canadians, are now willing to express their support for Donald Trump.”

Strickland said he recently waited in line for people to travel to Pennsylvania’s Erie County, located about 105 miles southwest of Buffalo, N.Y., and next to the border with Ohio.

Pennsylvania, along with other Great Lakes battleground states like Michigan and Wisconsin, have been cited as outcomes to watch, as both Democrats and Republicans will rely on the Electoral College votes of one or more of these states to propel their candidates to the blank elections. Home.

“That could decide the whole state is that close.” It could swing one way or the other,” Strickland said, noting that he mailed in his ballot to vote in the same area.

He added that the Windsor branch of Democrats Abroad works to connect volunteers with the Michigan state party, particularly in Detroit (which falls under Wayne County).

The other major element of the organization’s strategy was to strongly promote the vote of residents living in Canada.

“If all U.S. citizens living abroad were a state, this state would be the 11th largest state,” Strickland said, adding that approximately 700,000 eligible U.S. citizens living in Canada alone are eligible for immigration. vote by mail.

“The first thing Canadian citizens can do is tell their American friends who live here to vote. »

Burke said his group has also tried to raise awareness about voting in the 2024 election.

“We don’t really have access to the lists, unlike in Canada: political parties have electoral lists and… in the United States, each district has its own electoral list,” she said, noting that social media played an essential role in getting the message across. .

“We have a Facebook group that has thousands and thousands of members and that’s where we give them all the information we have: how to vote, how to register to vote (and) answer all their questions.”

One of the issues emerging from their social media feeds around the world in the 2024 election, Burke said, is the issue of citizens living abroad facing double taxation.

She said a tax deal meant it wasn’t “a huge problem in Canada” but highlighted the issue as an example of how advocacy from international residents was able to get the party to address the issue. question.

As for mobilizing support for sending south of the border, she said she has friends and contacts going door to door and dropping off campaign materials in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Virginia and in Indiana.

“These were Canadians who went and got the volunteer, even if it was just for a few days, but they really wanted to help in some way,” Burke said, adding that others went call campaign offices.

Both representatives issued warnings when asked further questions about the help non-U.S. citizens can offer.

“They can’t get paid to do this…they can’t do it legally and you’re not going to break the law,” Burke said.

“Canadians cannot give money and we cannot accept it. It’s illegal, so we don’t do it, but you can volunteer your time and help,” Strickland said.

The 2024 American election campaign and its challenges

So how have supporters outside the country viewed the campaign, what do they think of how it’s gone so far and what might motivate some to want to help?

For Strickland, he praised President Joe Biden after he dropped out of the race and called the move “a truly phenomenal event.”

“Obviously, from that first debate, everyone was depressed. My heart sank when I saw this. I love Joe Biden. I voted for him. I think he’s an absolutely great guy (with) great ideas, but unfortunately the Democrats have to find someone who can win,” he said.

“Her legacy will be one of supporting Kamala Harris in the future. I think he would have gone through a difficult time.

When asked what a potential administration under Harris would mean for Canada over the next four years if she assumes the presidency on Jan. 20, Strickland said he believed she would be willing to work with the Republicans to govern and that a potential administration under Trump would make him nervous.

“Kamala, when you compare it to what he’s doing, he wants retaliation,” he said, going on to talk about potential impacts on cross-border trade.

“I think we have to think about what Donald Trump would be like, and it would be a disaster for Canada.

“The United States is the elephant in the room for Canada, and it’s talking about imposing 10 to 20 percent tariffs on things that cross borders — that is, all borders of all countries — economically, it would be absolutely devastating for Canada and the world.

Burke challenged the idea that a Trump administration would be bad for Canada, pointing to Canada’s resources that are sought after in the United States.

“I’m interested when I read that people are freaking out and saying, ‘Oh my God, the world will end if Donald Trump becomes president, the world will end for Canada.’ “Well, it didn’t end for Canada between 2016 and 2020, and it won’t end for Canada now,” she said.

“Donald Trump is a businessman. Keeping that in mind, he is very business-oriented and, of course, his first priority, as it should be, is the United States. If we keep this in mind, we can present ourselves to Canada as a friendly and important neighbor to them.

As for what might motivate more people to publicly come out in support of Trump in 2024, Burke said she believes there is an appetite for change on both sides of the border. She argued there is “very great dissatisfaction” with the federal Liberal government.

“The Democrats have tried to present Kamala Harris as the candidate of change, but people say, ‘Well, wait a minute, change from what?’ She was vice president for four years, so how has that changed? » said Burke.

“I just think it’s the same dynamic, because people are fed up with the approach taken by these current governments, which are both quite similar actually: their attitudes, their speeches and their basic policies,” he said. she added. “I think people are ready to see something different and it’s not that it’s more conservative. They want more freedom.

When it comes to the race for the White House in 2024, political experts say this campaign is unlike any other.

“The word I’ve used a lot is unprecedented,” Matthew Lebo, a political science professor at Western University, told CityNews.

“On both sides of the aisle, we’ve never seen anything like this. First of all, the Democratic candidate withdrew quite late in the race… (and) on the Republican side, someone who was impeached, convicted twice, decided he wanted to run again.” , Melissa Haussman, retired political science professor at Carleton University. who lives in Florida and has worked on Democratic campaigns, said.

Lebo said that, given the electoral college system and current political trends, it would likely be up to only seven states out of 50 to determine who wins the vote.

“Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, Georgia and North Carolina, all are within two points,” he said, referring to public opinion polls.

“Pennsylvania has 19 electoral votes that could be decided by fewer than 100,000 votes.

“It’s just tiny shifts in those seven states, so Joe Biden won by seven million votes in 2020, but if you had moved about 40,000 votes in six states, he would have lost.”

But whoever wins the election, Lebo said Canada will resent these decisions.

“Canada comes after the United States and needs democratic stability more than anything. Economic and democratic stability is the most important thing compared to how trade relations could be different between the Trump administration and the Harris administration,” he said. “Canada’s security arrangements depend on the will and generosity of the United States and NATO. »

“For Canadians who worry about their friends and relatives in Ukraine, this means the election makes a big difference,” he added.

Haussman said she expects continuity on the trade front given that Canada and the United States have “incredibly linked” economies, but that “the rhetoric” will be different.

“On the one hand, we can say that Trump has been much more overtly punitive towards Canada. When he decided to renegotiate the USMCA (formerly NAFTA) and get that passed, it cost much of that to the cost of Canada, particularly the increase in rules of origin on cars, et cetera,” she said.

“On the other hand, Biden hasn’t reversed all of Trump’s tariffs, so there is continuity in the policy. It’s a bit like turning an oil tanker around. Basically, frankly, not much will change in four years, depending on who wins, but some things may change on the margins.