The saga of the U.S. election campaign is finally, mercifully, over.
Like rubberneckers at an accident, Canadians were riveted by the historic Nov. 8 vote that saw Donald Trump emerge victorious over Hillary Clinton.
From the reports we’ve seen, American voters who never before cast a ballot decided it was their time to speak … and their voices were loud and clear.
It was by no means a landslide victory for Trump, but it did show that Americans — divided as they may be — wanted change.
In 2008, Barack Obama ran on a slogan of “change” in response to the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts and 2007-2008 Economic Crisis.
Those who voted for Trump weren’t satisfied with the moves Obama made and they wanted change. They wanted to “make America great again” and at least 60 million people felt he was the one to do that.
This story of change is all-too familiar here at home. Last year’s provincial and federal elections showed how badly that was needed. After 44 years in power, the New Democrat Party decimated the Progressive Conservatives.
The NDPs won the majority of the legislature with 54 seats, and the Wildrose Party swept from third to Official Opposition. The PCs went from a 61-seat majority to just 10. If history dares to repeat itself, it will be almost impossible for the PCs to recover.
Not every one is a fan of Premier Rachel Notley or Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but luckily for us, we live in a democracy where we have a say on who governs us. Our preferred candidate might not win this time around but there’s always the next election.
We should be thankful for our democratic freedoms and the U.S. election and Remembrance Day are reminders of that. On Nov. 11 we remember those who served our country and sacrificed their lives to protect our nation and our rights.
We live in a country where we don’t have to fear the poll station will be bombed. And if we disagree with our government, or those in power, we can stand on the street and protest, write letters to the editor, blog or tweet about it.
That’s our right and ultimately, no matter the results, we the people get the final say.
