Yesterday — the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November  – Americans went to schools, community centers, church basements and union halls to vote in the midterm elections. 

Regardless of my politics before I came to Canada, I am here to represent my country and all of the American people.  My job is not to carry our partisan politics across the border.

As President Obama reminds us, every Election Day underscores the strength and resilience of American democracy.  Power in the United States rests with the people.  That is at the core of our system of representative and accountable government.

The President has pursued a foreign policy of engaging the nations and peoples of the world on the basis of mutual interests and mutual respect. That policy will not change.  Nor will the Administration’s steady work on issues related to global economic growth, security, development, promotion of a clean energy economy and support for universal rights.

As the President said this afternoon, “We must find common ground in order to make progress on some uncommonly difficult challenges.”

As we go forward, the United States will continue to work every day to strengthen our alliances, build new partnerships, and reach out to people in every corner of the globe. Both parties – and all branches of government – believe the United States has a practical and moral responsibility to provide effective, global leadership in the 21st century.

I have been asked by several people: what will the elections mean to Canada?  My answer is simple.  Probably not much.  At least for now.  The United States will still be your largest trading partner.  Canada and the United States will still work together to make our border more efficient and more secure.  Canada will still be our largest foreign supplier of every form of energy.  The United States and Canada will still be partners in the world in furthering our shared values of peace, security, and human rights. 

I will leave it to others to predict how the elections might impact on U.S. trade policy, environmental policy, or the economy.  I will say, however, that Canada does have a stake in whether the United States government is able to adapt and to respond to the serious economic and security challenges we face around the world.  Some are predicting the election will result in deadlock in Washington.  Others suggest there may be a new spirit of cooperation.  I hope — for the sake of Americans and for Canadians — that the latter group is right. 

I had an experience on Monday which helped me to put the election into the proper perspective.   I spoke by phone with a good friend who is a U.S. Ambassador and who – like me – was involved in Democratic politics before his appointment.  We were lamenting what was about to happen on Election Day and he said something important.  He is living in a country that does not have free and fair multi-party elections.  The only way people there can possibly change their government is by taking to the streets.  Elections are what we do in the United States.  They are what make us different from so many places in the world. 

We are fortunate for it – as is Canada.  If we lose some – after having won some – that’s ok.  That’s the price we pay for having a system that transfers power in an orderly way.  That’s how it was designed to work.

His comments reminded me of what’s really important at the end of the day and why, no matter the election result, we’re lucky to live where we do.

DJ