Canadians gather for camaraderie, food and drink at U.S. election night watch parties

MONTREAL — Canadians and American expats from coast to coast gathered Tuesday at bars, community centres, restaurants and homes to watch with a mixture of anxiety and excitement as the U.S. election results rolled in.

With final pre-election polls suggesting a close race between Vice-President Kamala Harris and former president Donald Trump, several watch party attendees said they came to watch and cheer even though final results were not necessarily expected by the end of the night.

From self-proclaimed “childless cat ladies” in Calgary and Vancouver to a balloon depicting Donald Trump as an angry diapered baby in a Montreal bar, many in the crowds at watch party events were pro-Harris, with organized gatherings for Republican supporters harder to find. Many of the organized events were held by Democrats Abroad.

Jennifer Phillips, chair of Democrats Abroad’s British Columbia Mainland Chapter, said the organization felt it was important to host watch parties to “create a safe space of joy and optimism to watch the results unfold.”

Phillips, a self-described “childless cat lady” from Texas, moved to Canada about five years ago. She said she sent her ballot in a few weeks ago but was not expecting an immediate “solid answer” about who would become the next president.

“We’re prepared for anything,” she said at a watch party at The Pleasant restaurant in Vancouver.

All eyes were glued to an onstage television at the Lithuanian House community centre in Toronto, where more than 100 people — including Mayor Olivia Chow — gathered for another Democrats Abroad event.

“It is a pivotal election for us, for the future, and I am just glad to be part of it,” said John Roberts, an American who has been living in Canada for nearly two decades. He cast his vote in the battleground state of Pennsylvania.

At a pub on Saint Mary’s University campus in Halifax, the lineup for drinks grew longer as the evening progressed. A cheer erupted from one booth as Trump was declared the winner in Kentucky, and more cheers followed from other tables as Bernie Sanders was declared re-elected in his Senate race as an independent in Vermont.

At McLean’s Public House in downtown Montreal, televisions switched back and forth between sports channels and CNN as hockey fans in Habs jerseys mixed with politics watchers. A staffer at a microphone, warming up the crowd for trivia, drew a loud cheer when he asked how many were rooting for Harris. The same question, about Trump, drew silence and scattered laughs.

Bar customer Ian Campbell said he was feeling “extremely worried” about the prospect of a Trump victory.

“Trump can do some serious damage, not only to the United States, but serious damage to the world,” he said, evoking the possibility of Trump pulling back from NATO and withdrawing support to Ukraine.

In Ottawa, U.S. Ambassador David Cohen joined join politicos and diplomats at the Metropolitain Brasserie, just steps from Parliament Hill, where he delivered brief remarks.

In downtown Calgary, members of a largely pro-Harris crowd expressed a mixture of anxiety and cautious optimism as the results came in.

“Yes, the sun’s going to come up if it doesn’t go my way,” said Dominick Rotante, who was born in Canada but raised in Colorado.

About 600,000 people who are eligible to vote in the U.S. election live in Canada, the largest number outside the United States, according to the Federal Voting Assistance Program.

One of those is Beth Boyd, who attended the Vancouver event. Boyd, who has lived in Canada for about 15 years, said she mailed in her vote “about two months ago.”

“I’m from Michigan, so it’s very important, I feel,” she said of voting. “Either way it’s important but especially in Michigan because it’s a swing state — or it was last time.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 5, 2024.

— with files from Sharif Hassan in Toronto, Cassidy McMackon in Halifax, Brieanna Charlebois in Vancouver and Bill Graveland in Calgary.

Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press