Olds & District Chamber of Commerce president Stephen Dodwell says it's too early to know what impact US president-elect Donald Trump will have on this community and Canada in general.
He says we have to wait until Trump's policies have been fleshed out before we'll really know what that impact will be.
However, Dodwell acknowledges the word is Trump is in favour of importing oil and gas from Canada, and specifically in favour of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would take oil from Alberta down to the Gulf of Mexico and thus to markets.
“That's what I've heard; that he's very much pro the pipelines and I think if that's the case, then that'll do nothing but good for us,” Dodwell said during an interview with the Albertan on Wednesday.
“But I just think at the moment, everybody just needs to calm down a little bit. Let's get the election excitement out of the way and let's turn election promises into reality, because there's still a few more months before he takes office.
“I think everybody just needs to stop reading all the Facebook pages, stop saying all this nonsense that's going on – that the world's going to end and bullies and bigots win.
“Maybe there's truth to all of that – I have no idea. However, I just think the biggest lesson – or the biggest advice I could give is, just it's done; it's been 18 months of nonsense. Now let's just calm down and see what the reality's going to be,” he added.
Several political pundits have seen parallels between the so-called “Brexit” vote in the United Kingdom, in which residents there defied the polls and voted to leave the European Union (EU).
It's been said many of those who voted to leave the EU were upset with the amount of immigration to the country, and attributed the rise in newcomers to Britain's link with the EU.
During the election campaign, many Trump supporters claimed immigrants – especially illegal immigrants -- were taking their jobs.
Polls predicted Democrat Hilary Clinton would beat Trump, albeit narrowly. Instead, Trump won.
Dodwell was asked if he sees any parallels between the Brexit vote and Tuesday's US election result.
“Not really,” he said. “It's two completely different issues. One's talking about bringing a country out of the European community and the free trade agreements and all that good stuff, and one is about electing a different politician to run the biggest country in the world.
“People like to pull it together and I think it makes the Brits feel better because they realize that, you know, some decisions are better than others.
“I think it's that constant rebellion and in that space – even with Obama, in the years that he's been in power, there's a new generation of voters and those voters only knew him. And then there's poverty, and white backlash. So it's inevitable, really.”
"I think everybody just needs to stop reading all the Facebook pages, stop saying all this nonsense that's going on – that the world's going to end and bullies and bigots win."STEPHEN DODWELL OLDS & DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE PRESIDENT
