Humber students share their thoughts of the U.S. election

Humber Polytechnic students supportive of candidate Vice President Kamala Harris were disappointed on election night.

Students told Humber Et Cetera how her speeches and interviews gave them hope for the future of the U.S. and the world. But those expectations were dashed as her opponent and now president-elect Donald J. Trump took control of the night. The Republican would eventually take control of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Tanmay Swod, a first-year professional accounting student, said although he isn't politically involved, he focuses on policies around immigration.

“I'm voting to like Kamala Harris because I love how the immigration policies and the balance of relationship works between them,” he said.

Some students believe the U.S. will intertwine with Canadian politics and could have a significant effect here.

Chelsea Tang, a second-year business marketing student, said she believes the election will affect everyone in Canada.

“No matter the outcome, Trump or Kamala, there's always going to be a correlation to Canada and how the government here is going to be run, which is going to be affecting not just me, but like literally everybody that's living here,” she said.

Some students think if American politics turned conservative, it's possible the world would follow suit.

Wagner Carrera Coronado, a student in the Film and TV production program, said the rest of the world might follow the path the U.S. has taken.

“We were on a liberal system, and this led to an example for the rest of the nations," he said. "If what happens tonight goes wrong and who we know wins, we might turn the U.S. into a conservative country."

Some students said although they may like several policies Trump stated, it was his character that made them lean towards Harris instead.

Carina Toito Cadete, a first-year nursing student, said she thinks Trump wouldn’t fit around the country's leadership.

“Personally, I would vote for Kamala, because it’s not even anything with Trump’s policies [or] anything like that, because I actually think that some of his policies are decent," Cadete said. "But just in terms of character, it’s the character of the leader that I'd want to run a country."

“I just don't think Trump necessarily kind of fits around the country, just based on what he said in the past, and I think that just really bothers me," she said.

In a survey conducted by Environics Institute, it found that Canadians were three times more likely to vote for Harris over Trump, by a 60 per cent to 21 per cent margin. 

The survey was based on telephone interviews with 2,016 Canadians between Sept. 9 and Sept. 23, 2023. The sample of this size drawn from the population produces results accurate within plus or minus 2.2 per cent.

The survey also found Trump's total has risen compared to similar research conducted in 2020 when he had 15 per cent of support among Canadians compared to 67 per cent for President Joe Biden.

However, several Humber Polytechnic students on campus support the president-elect.

Julian Haye, a third-year student in Sports Management, said if given the option as a Canadian, he would vote for Trump because of they share similar views. 

“Because I feel like his views align with mine more than mine and Kamala’s,” Haye said.

He said he feels the U.S. election affects Canada and “I care about it because I feel like in some ways it affects our country and my daily living and life, such as gas rates and I feel like environmental stuff.”

Others echoed Haye’s alignment, with others discussing how they like Trump's policies for growing the economy and wage increases among others. 

Virsa, a Business Management student in their second year, told Humber Et Cetera people shouldn’t focus on his character but instead on his policies and that he had a good approach to the world. 

“I think people attack his character a lot, but I think it's not about the character, it's about the policies,” he said. “I think his policies were actually great in growing the U.S. economy and keeping the whole world out of world wars, increasing wages and there was peace and stability."

A number of students, including Taranpreet Kaur Aulakh, said they believe the election will have affect on our lives.

"I think U.S.A. election is having a lot of impact on everyone's life because those elections are considered very big," the Business Management student said. "So I think it will impact, I really think it will impact our lives."

— This story was compiled by Aislinn Millette, Madison Boynton, Isabella D'Angelo, Dela Dorkenoo, Fernando Bossoes and Victoria Hincapie.