Despite living in Canada, it seems not a second goes by in which we don’t hear about the U.S. election.
The world will be watching tonight to see who will be the next president of the United States, but just how much do Quebecers care and what do we care about when it comes to politics south of the border?
According to a recent survey, 77 per cent of Canadians say they are interested in the elections while only 13 per cent say they have no interest at all. Perhaps even more surprising is 75% of Quebecers care enough to admit they are worried about the outcome of the U.S. election while only 7 per cent say they have no interest.
Meanwhile, 64 per cent say they will be watching tonight while 18 per cent haven’t yet decided but are considering it.
As far as our concerns …
According to the survey, 78 per cent of Quebecers are worried about the results with the six biggest reasons for concern being:
- Increased racial tensions leading to protests and violence: 80%
- The possibility of significant civil unrest or violence in the streets on election day or the following days: %77
- Not having a clear winner on election day and the chaos that may follow if several days are needed to declare a winner: 72%
- The incumbent refusing to accept the result of the election if he was on the losing side: 72%
- A complete breakdown of the political system in the US, leading to a period of social chaos: 68%
- A stock market crash in the days following the election: 62%
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The survey of 1,516 Canadians selected from an online panel was conducted from Oct. 30 to Nov. 1.