Canada's Ambassador to the U.S. says the country is prepared for a Harris or Trump administration

Canada's ambassador to the United States said Monday she doesn’t feel anxious about the American election, or its results.

With less than 24 hours to go before the U.S. presidential election, Canada’s Ambassador to the United States said Monday she doesn’t feel anxious about the election or its results, whether they fall in favour of U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris or former president Donald Trump.

“I'm not staying up at night, because I feel like we've really, really done the groundwork to prepare for this election; to prepare Canada and Canadians for a Trump administration or a Harris administration,” said Ambassador Kirsten Hillman in an interview with CTV News. Hillman has served as Canada’s ambassador to the United States since 2020.

“I'm eager to see how it all turns out, but I know we're ready,” she said.

Hillman noted there are opportunities and challenges with either candidate, just as there are with every U.S. administration.

Among those challenges: Trump's proposal to impose a 10-per-cent tariff on all imports from Canada to the U.S.

“That's not good for Canada, but it's not good for the United States,” Hillman said. “We’ve spent an awful lot of time going around this country, talking to Republicans whose state or community or city benefits greatly from Canada being their number one customer and from Canadian investment and job creation in their region. So, we've got sort of the groundwork laid to have that conversation with former president Trump, should he enter the White House again.”

Hillman said that the administration knows Donald Trump well, after his first term in office.