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MADE IN CANADA Tel: 519-208-8200597 King Street, North, WATERLOO, ON THURSDAY, MARCH 16, 2017 • WATERLOO CHRONICLE • 3 CITY NEWS WATERLOO CHRONICLE CITY NEWSCITY NEWS WATERLOO CHRONICLE By Pauline Finch For the Chronicle On Nov. 6, 2016 what much of the world, including Canada, believed was unthink-able actually happened. A volatile Republican "outsider" named Donald Trump won the U.S. presidential elec- tion, despite losing the popular vote by more than 3.2 million. Since then, Canadians have been peering anxiously across the world's longest undefend- ed land border, wondering, "what now?" A vigorous March 9 presentation called "Total Impacts: Political, Economic and Social E� ects of the U.S. Administration" brought an expert panel and a capacity audience of 250 to the University of Waterloo School of Optometry and Vision Science atrium to try and answer that question. � e evening left no doubt that events south of our border have become a permanent topic of Canadian discourse. Speakers included Tony Lamantia (president and CEO of Waterloo Economic Development Corporation), Victoria Lamont (UW associ- ate professor, english language and literature), Aaron Ettinger (UW assistant professor, politi- cal science), Anna Esselment (also a UW assis- tant professor, political science), and moderator John Ravenhill, director of the Balsillie School of International A� airs. Faced with big questions about how Canada could respond to the new "conservative nation- alism" coming out of Washington, Ravenhill introduced the discussion with a review of some key facts that likely won't change much, if at all. For starters, Canada-U.S. trade flow is the greatest in the world, accounting for some 20 per cent of our total income; half of all foreign investment in Canada comes from the U.S.; we send more goods to Michigan alone than to the entire European Union; there are 400,000 legal border crossings every day between our two countries. Now, with the U.S. seeming poised to back away from its traditional post-WWII role as the world's greatest force for liberal order, economic stability, and guarantor of strategic international alliances, there's good cause for Canadians to feel concerned. But amid the post-inauguration chaos that Ravenhill and his colleagues reviewed, often in humorous detail, opportunities are emerg- ing in which Canada could lead by continuing to do what we already do very well: welcom- ing refugees as assets to our society, drawing international talent to our universities and tech- knowledge sector, exemplifying inclusivity and diversity, and solving international problems through a time-honored strategy of "quiet diplo- macy." Esselment mused over how a Netflix doc- umentary would portray the surprising and troubling 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. It might recount how the Democrats came pre- pared with a solid team, diligent research, pre- dictive modelling, strong groundwork, and an experienced candidate -- and lost -- while the scatter-shot Republicans played to mass fears, staged pep-rallies, shunned media conferences, backed a divisive outsider candidate -- and won. Esselment cautiously predicted that several upcoming provincial elections before our next federal one will present a real test of how deeply American-style populism has in� ltrated our col- lective psyche. As we continue to process what happened to our southern neighbors, perhaps "we'll get voter angst out of our system." For Ettinger, foreign policy in the less-pre- dictable world of an isolationist America will pose a major challenge for Canadian diplomacy. What he termed the "unipolar moment" of the 1990s and 2000s is over; we're facing a "multi- polar" world order of political and economic decentralization that seems bound to unfold, whether Trump continues in power or not. Canada's potential opportunity lies in devel- oping "a clear, analytical and prescriptive strat- egy" by focusing on areas favourable to our strengths, not on issues where the U.S. won't compromise. Lamantia acknowledged the "underlying economic tension" resulting from the U.S. elec- tion, especially over trade and job creation. For him, the big question also centred on how Can- ada might bene� t from increased U.S. protec- tionism and isolation. He cited mixed, but mainly positive e� ects for Waterloo Region. Expansion in the knowl- edge industry is already happening; Canada is increasingly attractive to new and experienced talent. A potential downside is that some com- panies who've deferred expansion plans over fears of American trade restrictions could lose opportunities to foreign competitors. He felt the Justin Trudeau Liberal govern- ment has acted prudently by reaching out behind-the-scenes to American CEOs, state governors and other agencies. Despite the huge paradigm shift happening in Washington, "the Canadian brand has never been more wel- come." Lamont o� ered an alternative insight on our collective future in a post-Trump world, arguing for the importance of a humanities education in understanding social and political change. She identi� ed Trump's exaggerated gestures, abrupt pronouncements and extreme need for media attention, as typifying literature's "strong man narrative." But decades of dwindling govern- ment support for humanities programs in both countries resulted in many important nuances of the American election experience being over- looked. "We're in an era of disregard for history, of massive historical forgetting," she lamented. In a post-discussion interview Lamont described some students in her UW class being "in tears … over an American election," but noted the contrast of "a vibrant new discourse in rights-based advocacy" at the recent Women's March in Toronto. Echoing a sentiment felt in many audience questions as well, she asserted, "People are starting to wake up to the possibility that there will have to be action." Making sense of it all Expert panel discusses the trials and tribulations of Trump north and south of the 49th parallel From left to right, John Ravenhill, Tony Lamantia, Victoria Lamont, Aaron Ettinger, and Anna Esselment looked into the issues surrounding Donald Trump's administration in the U.S. PAULINE FINCH PHOTO