Carleton professors and students gathered Nov. 7 to discuss what Obama’s re-election as the president of the United States means for Canadians.
“The unsexy story from last night is things aren’t going to change that much for Canada,” said Stephen Saideman, Paterson Chair at Carleton’s Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA).
The two-hour panel discussion was held in Residence Commons and organized by NPSIA, Canadian Foreign Policy Journal, and scholarship program Fulbright Canada.
Graeme Cunningham, manager of strategic development and partnerships at Fulbright Canada mediated the session.
The topic that dominated the discussion was the future of the U.S. economy.
“Things will get better for Canada,” Robert Rotberg, Fulbright visiting research chair at NPSIA said.
“The only way to create jobs is to build something. As Obama works with Canada, energy sources will flow into the United States,” he said.
Michael Hart, a Mitt Romney supporter, disagreed with his fellow panelist on where the Americans’ fiscal situation leaves Canada.
He said under Obama’s policies, Canadians can expect Canadian-American relations to stay the same in the short term, but the long-term situation is a different story.
Hart said in order to pull America out of the recession, Obama needs to do away with his first-term job creation plans of expanding the public sector.
“Obama spent $800 billion increasing the number of teachers. Increasing size of government at any level doesn’t lead to long-term growth. America needs job creation in private sector,” he said.
Melissa Haussman, an associate political science professor at Carleton, disagreed.
“I think the economic policies are going to be great for Canada,” she said.
She said Obama’s commitment to the Keystone pipeline is an example of a partnering project that will foster mutual economic growth.
Rotberg said Canada’s economy has a direct relationship to America’s.
“Unless the U.S. strengthens the economy, Canada will suffer,” he said.
Saideman echoed the impact American decisions have on their northern neighbour.
Although Canada’s dependence on America can be problematic, Saideman said Canada and America share a beneficial key policy that is unique to the rest of the world.
With this policy lies the potential to extract themselves from the global recession.
The solution, he suggested, is immigration.
“If we continue to accept immigrants . . . the ratio of workers to retired folks works out,” he said.
He cited Japan’s aging population as one of the factors that is hindering the country’s economic advancement.
“As long as we accept immigrants, we won’t age fast,” he said.
Despite optimism for Obama’s job creation plans from three out of the four panelists, Haussman said she remains skeptical of the extent Obama can turn the economy around in his next term.
“As John Stewart said, $6 billion later and not a thing changed,” she said, referring to the campaign spending.
Obama has another four years to prove to Americans and Canadians alike if he can turn the economy around.
