Donald Trump’s victory in the American election is surprising for many Quebecers, including Jean Charest who is convinced that this result proves that we do not know our southern neighbors that well.
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“We don’t know the Americans well,” said the former Prime Minister of Quebec, in an interview on the show The Balance SheetFriday evening.
“There are things that we don’t understand in Americans,” he thought. We are probably the country that is best placed to decode them and despite this, there are bits that we are missing. There’s a lesson in humility in that.”
He said he was very surprised by the result of the presidential election.
“We had the feeling towards the end [de l’élection] that Mme Harris had managed to create momentum and he continued to say controversial things, he explained. So I had a kind of hope, honestly, that it was going to be different.”
The expert in Canadian-American relations is especially surprised by the complete victory of the Republican candidate. The latter won the vote of the Electoral College, but also the popular vote as well as the Senate. The winner for the House of Representatives is not yet confirmed.
Mr. Charest thinks that the two biggest areas of concern for the electorate, the economy and immigration, worked in favor of the Republican camp.
Photo AFP
“We are right to be worried”
Jean Charest thinks that the renegotiations on the free trade agreement will be done more quickly than expected. Canada should therefore prepare to identify what the country can offer the future president. The federal government should focus on energy, according to him, since it is the largest supplier to the United States.
“60% of the energy that comes from outside the United States comes from Canada,” said Mr. Charest. We have resources, we have cards to play. We should focus on that too instead of being too reactive to their requests.”
The politician also addressed the issue of asylum seekers who could immigrate to Canada.
“Let’s stay calm,” he replied. Yes, there are limits to what we can do to contain a wave, if there is a wave, but let’s wait and see, because what Mr. Trump wants to do is going to be very contested.
The president-elect plans to deport 10 million illegal immigrants. This decision would be very controversial, especially because of the potential use of deportation camps.
However, Donald Trump only has two years to implement his more controversial policies because of the midterm elections. Afterwards, he will only have two more years if he is still in office, since the United States does not allow its presidents to serve more than two terms. Donald Trump already served his first term between 2016 and 2020.
“In my opinion, they will want to move quickly,” said Jean Charest.
All in all, the latter remains fearful about the future of the relationship between the two countries. “We are right to be worried,” he said.
To watch the full interview, click on the video above.
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