MP McLeod surprised by Trump win, but says result wasn’t an issue of gender

Nov 9, 2016 | 10:18 AM

KAMLOOPS — The MP for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo says she was as surprised as anyone by the result of yesterday’s US presidential election.

Cathy McLeod says the vote reminded her of the Brexit outcome in the United Kingdom earlier this year.

“I was surprised by the outcome. But it really just goes to show, unless you live in a country, you don’t know what’s happening in terms of the feelings, the dynamics. I look at Brexit. I was surprised by that outcome and certainly surprised with the outcome last night.”

McLeod says she’s concerned about the potential impact of a Trump presidency to the economic relationship between Canada and the United States.

“There’s a few areas that I wonder where we’re going to go. NAFTA was something that was talked about during the campaign, but also Keystone XL. So I think there’s a lot on the president-elect’s plate and we’ll have to see what direction he decides to move in next.”

“Whether softwood lumber ends up towards resolution, whether there are changes in terms of NAFTA, whether there’s a tightening of the borders in terms of free flow. We were really working towards a more seemless border in terms of goods and services. Those are the areas; the economic relationship.”

While some pundits have pointed to the result as proof the deck is stacked against women in politics, McLeod doesn’t see it that way.

“I’m not sure that I would put this to a female versus male issue. I would really put it down to something in the message that Donald Trump had that resonated with Americans. And obviously something that didn’t work in terms of Hillary Clinton.”

McLeod adds Canada and the United States worked together despite ideological differences between President Obama and former prime minister Stephen Harper, and can do the same with Trump and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

“I think where you go is you look for your commonalities and the areas that you need to work together on for the better of both countries. And, of course, recognize that in spite of differences, the long term relationship is critical and important.”