By Saleha F.

[dropcap]A[/dropcap]nother typical Tuesday night, or is there something more exciting going on? Scrolling down your Facebook timeline, you try to catch up on all-things missed out. Keeping up with social life can be a drag. Friends are busy with midterms and errands. Everybody’s seemingly doing their own thing. On the other hand, you’re running out of TV shows and movies to kill time. Feeling bored, perhaps even a little left out, you decide to do something productive for a change. Well, hopping onto the latest news headlines can put you on that track. Today, Tuesday November 8th, could very well go down as the biggest day of the year.

It’s become this year’s annoying hashtag that’s now impossible miss. 2016’s #election will probably go down as one of the most controversial presidential races in American history.

Even your favourite entertainment sites now feature the drama. The United States and its voting population is pretty much divided between candidates Hillary Clinton and her match Donald Trump.

But what do we care about American politics anyway? Apart from a few forceful family road trips and some to-die-for shopping deals, life south of the border never crossed your mind. Sure, we come across the occasional loony Trump headline every now and then, but life tends to take-over, and suddenly you’re too busy to notice.

Sadly, that doesn’t mean US election results won’t affect us Canadians somehow.

Some good news first. No matter who wins, there’s no upcoming doom hotspots like Tim Horton’s or Pizza Pizza. National treasures like Montreal-style poutine and smoked meat sandwiches are also here to stay. Indoor skating rinks sacred to the GTA won’t be destroyed once the winner is announced, nor will Justin Trudeau lose his signature sparkle that made us proud.

Imminent threats aside (and in all seriousness), it’s important to keep in mind real-life post-election scenarios that can affect is Canadians.

Money, money, money

We start with everybody’s favourite love-to-hate celebrity: Donald Trump.

Despite his unfiltered campaign style, Trump represents a rare moment when a non-politician tries to enter the White House. His experience comes from a “businessman” background: he’s a real-estate mogul and mainly deals with business ventures and investments.

Trump’s tax plan cuts taxes for every income group, but the biggest reductions go to the biggest earners.

Economy

Ever heard of NAFTA? It’s a free trade agreement between Canada, Mexico and the United States. So when it comes to trade and big bucks, money-mogul Trump would fight our fair-trade relationship with the US. With 80% of Canadian goods already making its way to the US everyday, let’s just say our economy won’t be looking its best if Trump joined the mix.

On the other hand, Hillary Clinton (like Obama) supports big trade agreements (like NAFTA) that reduces costs on international trade. In the end, if Trump removed such agreements between Canada and its southern neighbours, it would make it harder to transport goods across the border.

Higher walls

It’s no secret that Trump wants to ban all Muslims from entering the US. He also plans to send back Syrian refugees. If Trump had his way, all American Muslims must register in a government database for monitoring. Side note – it’s clear Trump didn’t consider the coolness factor brought by American Muslims like DJ Khaled, Janet Jackson and Shaquille O’Neal (the list goes on). Other famous Muslim faces with tons of American fans include Zayn Malik and Sadiq Khan (London’s first Muslim mayor).

On the flipside, Hillary Clinton is into immigration reform that would develop citizenship and immigrant rights. She also plans to work on national security, allowing the deportation and detaining of people

thought to pose a dangerous threat to the United States.

In Conclusion

• Stats show that Canada’s economy does better under democratic US-rule vs. Republican
• We are the US’s biggest customer, so walking away from trade agreements would have a huge impact on Canadian economy
• Trump’s tax plan would benefit the 1%, with the world’s top-earners escaping tax fees
• Hillary’s immigration reform welcomes integration, while Trump includes more control

I’ll admit, it’s hard not to wonder whether this year’s US elections will live up to the insane hype. Political facts and tidbits take up mental space which lots of us just don’t have nowadays. But it never hurts to be in-the-know about potentially life-changing events. Who knows?   

Out of pure curiosity, I might just join the folks watching tonight’s polls in anticipation. Will it really affect life that drastically? As the former office leaves to make way for newer things to come, I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what eventually happens.

MYVoice Canada is a non-profit magazine for today’s Muslim youth. For comments or queries, email us at Info@MYVoiceCanada.com

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