Sarnia-Lambton residents are trying to absorb the potential ramifications of Donald Trump being elected the 45th President of the United States.
Mike Bradley, as the mayor of a border city, is concerned.
"We are a trading nation, three-quarters of our economy is based on trade, and he is not a free trade person or respects the existing trade agreements," says Bradley. "I have great concern on a personal basis about the Great Lakes. He's indicated in the past, a lack of interest in environmental issues, in environmental protection, and that is a critical part of our economy and our fabric in this part of Canada."
Sarnia-Lambton Conservative MP Marilyn Gladu is taking a wait-and-see approach but admits she, too, has concerns about some of Trump's comments and behaviour during the campaign.
She adds, however, that not all of Trump's stated intentions are necessarily bad for Canada.
"My hope is that he will recognize the importance of the relationship between Canada and the U.S. and that we will work cooperatively together," says Gladu. "I thought it was very positive what he said about pipelines, and building the KXL (Keystone XL pipeline), I think that is a good thing for Canada."
Gladu said some constituents had already expressed concerns to her the morning after the election about the potential impacts on border security and free trade.
Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, while in Sarnia Wednesday, said a lot of people were surprised by the election result but "now is the time to try to heal the wounds and pull together."
"They're a country that has been quite divided through this process and we'll see, the president-elect said in his remarks that he was going to make that effort and let's hope that he does because there was a lot of ugliness that came out during that campaign," says Horwath.
