How do Haligonians make sense of Trump’s presidency?

On Tuesday night, the Halifax Central Library hosted a talk about Donald Trump’s presidency and how it would affect people beyond the U.S.

More than 40 people attended the three-hour panel discussion, hosted by Africa’s Children Return Cuba! and African Liberation. One of the panelists was Kalenda Eaton, a visiting Fulbright Scholar from Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, who called the election a wake-up call for Canadians.

“There have been people who are kind of looking around and (have) realized that the nice pleasant, environment they are living in, may not really be what it seems,” said Eaton.

Trump, a Republican, is going to be the next U.S. president. During his campaign, he promised to build a wall on the border with Mexico and get the Mexican government to pay for it. He also called Hillary Clinton, the Democrat’s candidate, a “nasty woman” during one presidential debate.

One event attendee pointed out that Trump’s attitudes aren’t new. 

“Actually these struggles have been ongoing; the struggles of anti-racist and anti-misogynist and environment are ongoing (locally),” said Fazeela Jiwa, who spoke out at the event.

Some people are fearful that Trump’s presidency will have a negative impact on Canada.

“I was very concerned by his election, by the normalization and the support of (a) very hateful, social discourse in the United States,” said Torgny Vigerstad, an immigrant from the U.S., in an interview after the talk.

The event was sponsored by Dalhousie’s James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies. Four other experts from Dalhousie University and Saint Mary’s University and a genealogist were also there as panelists.