OTTAWA (NEWS1130) – Will last night’s US election results really make a difference in the relationship between Canada and the US?

News1130 Parliament Hill reporter Cormac MacSweeney says ministers and MP’s seem happy about Obama’s re-election because they already have a working relationship with his administration and are hoping to keep that relationship strong.

MacSweeney explains “I think it really just stays the same for us and how we have seen things work. Some people may have wanted Romney to win and were hoping to have an increased trade relationship with a Romney administration, but you definitely won’t hear that out of their mouths from the Conservative side.”

He says from Canada’s point of view, there are some key things that need to be examined, like the Keystone Pipeline. “Joe Oliver, The Minister of Natural Resources says he’ s confident Obama will pass this pipeline and get it approved. He has no doubt about that.”

MacSweeney also points to trade issues and the economy. He says a split house Senate is a bit of a worry for MP’s right now because they think there could be some gridlock in trying to get laws passed, specifically the fiscal cliff, which would cause some serious consequences.

He says “When the US sneezes, Canada catches a cold, so we could be impacted by that as well.”

Richard Johnston, Canada Research Chair in Public Opinion, Elections, and Representation at UBC agrees with MacSweeney “In terms of Canada-US relations, it doesn’t make a big difference.”

Johnston isn’t sold on the notion that Obama will give the Keystone Pipeline the go-ahead “There is a kind of expectation that the President will eventually approve the Keystone XL pipeline [connecting the Alberta oil sands with the US Gulf coast] but I’m not sure I believe that.”

And though the relationship may have cosied up considerably if Republican Mitt Romney became president, Johnston says Prime Minister Harper seems to have a good working relationship with Obama.
    
But where our biggest trading partner’s economy goes, to an extent the Canadian economy will follow.
    
“The real story is that we’re basically where we were before the election. The US is facing the fiscal cliff and if nothing happens in the next month, taxes will go up and there will be considerable cuts to domestic and defense spending [in the US],” he explains.

The fiscal cliff is a term used to describe when the laws of the 2011 Budget Control Act are set to take effect, including a the end of certain tax breaks for businesses and a two per cent tax increase for workers. The changes will take effect at midnight on December 31st.
    
Once the celebrations die down, Johnston says Obama has to get back to work quickly on the US economy.