TORONTO8212;Latacha Smellie didn’t vote for President-elect Barack Obama, but when she found out he would be the next U.S. president, she could not hold back a smile.
Smellie, a Jamaican-Canadian studying political science at Ryerson University in Toronto, said the election for Obama was a historic moment not only in the United States but also in the rest of the world.
“It showed that a black man or a black woman can do anything,” she said.
Smellie is one of many international Canadians in Toronto who favored Obama to win the American election. With large populations of minority groups, Toronto has been called the most diverse city in the world by the United Nations on multiple occasions. Smellie said many ethnic groups supported Obama more than Sen. John McCain.
“Obama meant a change in the way the United States dealt with foreign powers,” she said. “It seems like people felt he would treat Canada and their home countries as equals rather than bullying them.”
Devasari Kapur, a sophomore in environmental studies at York University, is originally from India. He said he paid more attention to the U.S. election than to any previous elections in Canada.
“The United States election has a huge impact on not only Canada but also on the world’s economy,” he said. “I wanted Obama to win; I would have donated money to him if it were allowed for foreigners to give money to campaigns.”
Ali Awaale, a sophomore in biology at the University of Toronto, said Obama had the support of the youth and immigrants in his part of Ontario. While he was born in Canada, his family stems back to Somalia in Africa.
“My generation saw him as a possibility for a changed, better America. I know my parents hoped he would win because he has an African background similar to ours,” he said.
Awaale said many immigrants become interested in U.S. politics because they hope to someday move to the United States, or because they have family in America.
Anita Munoz’s family, for example, has half of its members in the United States. Munoz and her family immigrated to America and Canada from Mexico so she and her brothers could have better educations. But leaving home and having their family separated was hard for her parents, she said.
“In talking to my brothers in America, they felt Obama would increase our chances of someday moving to America to be with them,” said Munoz, a freshman at York studying economics. “They and I felt he better had the common people’s interest than McCain or some of the other candidates.”
In the suburbs surrounding Toronto, sentiments continue to favor him but for different reasons.
Jared Trebloski is a student at Durham College in biology technology. His father works at a General Motors plant in Oshawa, Ontario, and he hopes to also work there in the future.
However, the failing automobile industry has Trebloski and his family worried.
“We watched the elections carefully and are even more worried about the motor vehicle bailout proceedings,” he said. “We felt my dad had a better chance of keeping his job with Obama (as president) and obviously we support any good bailout to pass.”
However, not all Canadians were thrilled to hear Obama won the election. Jaycey Giblin, a 22-year-old student, works part time at a bank in Brockville, Ontario, four hours east of Toronto. She said the day after the U.S. election many people came in complaining.
“They couldn’t believe Obama won. Most were disappointed because Brockville is very conservative in nature,” she said. “But some were even a little angry that a black man had been elected.”
Editor’s Note8212;Jed Layton is a U student reporting from Toronto through the Hinckley Institute of Politics.