American expats in Canada eager to vote in US election

Of the 5.5 million Americans living outside the country, the 620,000 of them in Canada have expressed eagerness to vote in Tuesday's US presidential election.

Although only 5.3 percent of American living in Canada voted in 2016, according to the US government's Federal Voting Assistance Program, they're poised to turn out in record numbers this year.

Whether it's four more years of Donald Trump or a new Joe Biden era has become more significant for Canada as the southern neighbour impacts Canada economically more than any other nation.

Many Canadian American citizens are voting in absentee ballots for the US election for the first time after decades in Canada.

Virginia St-Cyr, 88, who moved from Kansas to Montreal for love, had never voted in her life until a few weeks ago.

"Trump has to be defeated," St-Cyr told CBC News. "I watched all the things that have gone on these past four years, and it's tragic."

St-Cyr said she believes Trump has "diminished" the reputation of the US with his behaviour and policies, something that "embarrasses" her.

Given the tight race between Trump and Biden, St-Cyr said that her vote could make a difference.

Ontario resident Liz Nooyen, who moved to Canada 30 years ago and never voted in a US election, also decided to vote this year.

Nooyen told CBC News that her vote is about the economy, and she strongly opposes Biden's plan to raise taxes on businesses and wealthy Americans.

"If you want to tax them and make it harder for them to do business and make their profits, they will leave," said Nooyen, adding that she can overlook Trump's behaviour.

Both Nooyen and St-Cyr have sent in their absentee ballots and got confirmation that their votes were received.

Another Canadian American citizen, Soon Jenny Wiebe, will drive from her Canadian home to the Maine town where she was born, to retrieve the mail-in ballot her parents are holding for her.

Wiebe told media that her vote will break the electoral deadlock in her own family: Wiebe's 82-year-old father votes Republican, and her 80-year-old mother votes Democrat.

It was said that Democrats are mounting a special effort to target the swing state of Michigan, which Trump won by 11,000 votes in 2016. They believe there are more than double that many southern Ontario residents who are eligible to vote in Michigan.

According to the Canadian Press, Canadian membership in Democrats Abroad has grown by 90 percent from 2016 to about 25,000 members. And the non-partisan votefromabroad.org is seeing triple the website traffic from inquisitive foreign voters compared with 2016, up to about 1 million users.

Meanwhile, Republicans in Canada point out that many Democratic votes will be cast in states the party won in 2016 and will likely win this time around.

The largest number of Canadian-based American voters cast their ballots in New York and California, which the Democrats usually win handily.

Jessica Sheridan, a Toronto-based Democratic supporter, said Canadians "have a stake" in the US election and that makes it all the more important for Americans to vote from abroad.

"Canada's democracy can actually be undermined by a neighbour to the south that does not have those same belief systems or values," Sheridan told The Canadian Press. "Canada needs a really strong ally. ... It's a responsibility to vote."