The American elections have proven to be a great topic of discussion and evaluation around the globe from start to finish.
The whole world watched in anticipation as the American votes were cast around the United States on Nov 4 and cheered when Barack Obama beat out his opponent John McCain.
The election of Obama as president of the United States of America is a huge deal for the world and for America. As the first African-American president, Barack Obama has made history and taken a major step leading into the future of the country.
The economic turmoil of the United States, the war in Iraq, the environment, and many other issues seem to be greater than ever and the responsibility facing Obama is intense.
Increasingly becoming less and less of a world dominant power, being gradually beaten out by the eastern world, it is still amazing how much of an impact the president and the country have on the rest of the globe.
So, what does the election of Obama mean for Canada? According to a recent conversation between the leader of Canada and the president elect, it seems to mean a greater bond between the two countries in times of trouble and includes a joint focus on climate change.
The relationship between Canada and the United States has been decent and following the American election results Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper made a friendly call to Obama to congratulate him.
According to the CBC website it was a “warm exchange” and it was “emphasized that there could be no closer friends and allies and vowed to maintain and further build upon this strong relationship”.
The G-20’s leaders’ summit was also discussed between the two and its importance for diving into the issues of the world’s financial crisis.
It was noted that Harper believes that Obama, who is committed to increase the United States’ energy security, will understand that America faces huge challenges and that Canada is and remains the “major source of energy and the most secure source of energy”.
So what does the election results mean for Alberta? Earlier on in the campaign Obama stated that he would break America’s addiction to “dirty, dwindling, and dangerously expensive oil” if he is elected which may target Alberta’s oilsands.
Premier of Alberta Ed Stelmach counteracted the comments of Obama and stresses that the Americans need Alberta’s oilsands to provide cheap energy to help the dropping American economy.
Stemach has also been trying to break the stereotypes of Alberta’s “dirty” oil by spreading the word to the United States that the production of oil and gas from tar-like bitumen in Alberta isn’t any more harmful to the environment than other conventional sources of energy.
Stelmach is also adamant that Alberta is involved and gets a seat at the table during any meetings targeted at reaching a climate change deal between Canada and the United States stating that any deal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions would have a major impact on major energy in the province.
It is important that the well-being of the province, which has the major resources, is included, or at least becomes a main focus of discussion.
I would hope that Alberta native, Harper, would look out for this province and not agree with Obama on something that could possible bring Alberta into despair but carefully weighs the options beforehand.
Obama and Harper, with their proposed increasing bond, will hopefully work together for the benefit of both countries, not putting one above the other when it comes to the economy.
The election of Barack Obama has made history in a huge way and hopefully his partnership with Harper will result in a thriving a better country for both the United States and Canada.