Canadians from coast to coast gathered Tuesday with a mixture of excitement and anxiety to watch one of the biggest political shows on Earth: the U.S. election results.
Community centres, theatres, bars, restaurants and homes across Canada turned televisions to U.S. networks Tuesday as vote counts rolled in.
Brandon Brock was among the roughly 230 people who came out to a Democrats Abroad event at The Pleasant in Vancouver. It was his first presidential election in Vancouver after moving to the city three years ago. He became a permanent resident about 18 months ago.
"It's really cool to be in a great big room full of people who know what it's like to be American. Having people not really understand what it means when people say electoral votes – it's very confusing to be a political person in Canada because no one really understands it. People don't even understand it in the U.S."
Originally from a small town in the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas, Brock said his home state is very conservative.
"A lot of people in my family voted for Donald Trump, but my immediate family have all been converted to vote for Kamala Harris."
Brock is gay man and credits that for his immediate family's switch.
"It's very easy for my family to see politics through the lens of their eldest son."
He said it's a bit weird going back to a part of the country where everyone votes against his community, "but that's their world." However, he said that just because he's in Canada now doesn't mean he's not going to be invested in his home country.
The Pleasant gathering was just one of Democrats Abroad British Columbia Mainland's 10 events across the province. Several were in Vancouver, with others in Tsawwassen, Richmond, North Vancouver and Nelson.
The B.C. chapter's chair Jennifer Phillips said events like these happening across the country are a nice way to bring people together.
"They go to a different country, they don't know anyone. Gathering specifically for Democrats Abroad, it allows people to be in that community, make new friends, and talk about politics in a way that they might not be able to do elsewhere, even back home."
Speaking to Black Press Media just hours after the first polls closed, Phillips said early results are always going to look a little more red.
"That's typical because votes that are counted in rural areas are easier and faster to count, so the 'red mirage' is a little bit of a false narrative. I think we're looking, for the rest of the night, things to really pick up and still be very optimistic."
Philips is originally from Texas and moved up to Canada about five-and-a-half years ago. For her, reproductive rights are the key issue for her, pointing to abortion bans going through the state and female mortality rates rise.
"I'm hopeful that Texas will at least get purple. I know some outlets have called it, but I'm fingers crossed."
Phillips said there are an estimated 600,000 U.S. citizens living in Canada who are eligible to vote, with about 150,000 of those in the Lower Mainland. There are an estimated six million American citizens living abroad.
Voter turnout outside of the U.S. typically tends to be between six and 10 per cent, she said. Democrats Abroad believe it's an awareness issue. But voters abroad can really make an impact.
"Back home, we have been the margin of victory in key states. We saw that with Georgia and Arizona in 2020."
One 600,000 U.S. citizens in Canada is Beth Boyd, who also attended a Democrats Abroad watch party at The Pleasant in Vancouver. Boyd, who has lived in Canada for about 15 years, said she mailed in her vote “about two months ago.”
“I’m from Michigan, so it’s very important, I feel,” she said of voting. “Either way it’s important but especially in Michigan because it’s a swing state — or it was last time.”
Boyd said she is hoping for a Democrat win, adding that she hasn’t been to a Democrats Abroad watch party since Donald Trump won in 2016.
“I want a do-over to make it right this time,” she said.
Alice Elmore has been living in Vancouver since 2020, and she remembers watching the last presidential election – and the Jan. 6 riot – from her home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"You're sitting there going, 'Oh my God, what's going to happen?"
This time around, she said it feels "like I'm with my people and I'm so happy."
Elmore, who is originally from California, said if Harris is elected there is a much better chance of maintaining abortion and reproductive health rights.
"We have a better chance of having a respectful country."
Asked how long she planned to stay at the watch party, Elmore laughed and said "until Friday" or whenever the final result is in.
In Toronto, all eyes were glued to an onstage television at Lithuanian House community centre, where more than 100 people gathered for a Democrats Abroad event. With final opinion polls suggesting a close race between Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, attendees said they came to cheer on Harris even as some considered the chances of the race being called that night to be slim.
John Roberts, an American who has been living in Canada for nearly two decades, said he was feeling “nauseously optimistic” about a Democrat victory.
“What brought me here tonight is really an opportunity to show my support for Kamala Harris tonight and the rest of the Democratic ticket,” said Roberts, who cast his vote in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.
“It is a pivotal election for us, for the future, and I am just glad to be part of it.”
Kate Cohen, a Michigan voter who has lived in Canada for 26 years, said she was hoping to “celebrate or commiserate” with like-minded people.
Cohen said she has voted in every election since moving to Canada.
“It is a right, and it is a privilege, and I don’t think anybody should throw it away or treat it lightly,” she said.
At a pub on Saint Mary’s University campus in Halifax, the lineup for drinks grew longer as the evening progressed and results started to roll in. A cheer erupted from one booth as Trump was declared the winner in Kentucky, and more cheers followed from other tables as Bernie Sanders was declared re-elected in his Senate race as an independent in Vermont.
At McLean’s Public House in downtown Montreal, televisions switched back and forth between sports channels and CNN as hockey fans in Habs jerseys mixed with politics watchers. A staffer at a microphone, warming up the crowd for trivia, drew a loud cheer when he asked how many were rooting for Harris. The same question, about Trump, drew silence and scattered laughs.
Bar customer Ian Campbell said he was feeling “extremely worried” about the prospect of a Trump victory.
“Trump can do some serious damage, not only to the United States, but serious damage to the world,” he said, evoking the possibility of Trump pulling back from NATO and withdrawing support to Ukraine.
He said he is disappointed with both presidential candidates on some issues, including what he sees as a failure to help Palestinians in Gaza.
“I think that Harris is just a safer option and I dearly hope that she wins,” he said.
Back in Vancouver, Brock said he hosted a watch party for the 2016 presidential election. He wore a purple pantsuit with a string of pearls, like Hillary Clinton.
"We had to watch Donald Trump become become president and it's a very painful memory. Part of my soul doesn't want to even imagine it happening again because I know a lot of people in the States who will be very scared."
But despite the result eight years ago, Brock said it didn't deter him from coming to Tuesday's watch party. He said there's something about wanting to be with people you can commiserate with.
He likened it to when the U.S. went to the moon.
"Everyone's hopes and dreams are on those rockets – and sometimes those rockets blow up right after they launch, and it feels like a stabbing pain in the heart. But sometimes those rockets reach the moon. So we just hope that we go to the moon and don't erupt on the launch pad."
