Lessons for Canada from a Long U.S. Election

Canadians have an awareness of U.S. political developments in inverse proportion to the interest that Canadian politics holds for Americans; it is safe to say that the proportion of Canadians who can’t name the U.S. president is roughly that of Americans familiar with the name Stephen Harper. Similarly, the economic health of the U.S. is of greater importance to Canadians than our well-being in that respect is to Americans; about 30 per cent of our gross domestic product is dependent on trade with the United States, while Canadian trade accounts for less than 10 per cent of U.S. GDP.