Created Equal: Why Canadians are watching the US presidential election so closely 

You may be surprised to learn that U.S. politics and elections find not only eager interest among Canadians, but also that the political trends in both countries mirror each other in unexpected ways.

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Canadians tend to be somewhat engaged in U.S. politics with most Canadian news outlets having a correspondent in Washington and many Canadians having access to CNN. Simultaneously, Canada’s current governing Liberal Party is falling out of favor and the Conservative Party led by Pierre Poilievre is leading the polls with a political style that mirrors Donald Trump’s in use of nicknaming and nostalgic imagery.

Ian Hanomansing, host of CBC’s “The National” nightly news, joined Created Equal to discuss how Canadians feel about the upcoming U.S. presidential election, the increase in political polarization in Canadian society, and the parallels between Canadian and U.S. politics.

Hanomansing says that the Canadian coverage of more extreme right-wing political factions in the U.S. creates a sense of worry about the direction of U.S. politics among Canadians.

“We see the extremes here in the coverage, and I just see a lot of people going: ‘what is happening?’” Hanomansing said.

Guests:

• Ian Hanomansing is the co-host of CBC’s nightly news program, The National and the host of CBC’s live radio call-in program, Cross Country Checkup