Harper, opposition leaders congratulate Obama
OTTAWA Canada’s federal political leaders wasted no time congratulating U.S. President Barack Obama on his re-election Tuesday night.
Travelling in India, Prime Minister Stephen Harper issued a statement in the early hours of Wednesday morning after it was clear Republican candidate Mitt Romney had been defeated.
“On behalf of the Government of Canada, I would like to congratulate President Barack Obama on his victory in tonight’s election and on being re-elected by the American people for a second term,” he said.
Harper noted he and Obama have worked on several initiatives, including efforts to address issues at the border and free trade in the Asia-Pacific region.
“I look forward to working with the Obama Administration over the next four years to continue finding ways to increase trade and investment flows between our countries,” Harper said.
“This includes putting in place the transportation and security infrastructure necessary to take bilateral commercial relations to new heights and reducing red tape so companies on both sides of the border can create more jobs.”
NDP Leader Tom Mulcair offered Obama “heartfelt” congratulations in a statement that was laced with attempts to draw political linkages between his party and the U.S. president.
“President Obama knows that a nation can achieve more when its citizens work together to lift each other up,” Mulcair’s statement read. “He also recognizes that sustainable development is crucial to ensuring a brighter future for our children and grandchildren. “These are values that New Democrats are proud to share.”
Mulcair went on to say that he looked forward to working with Obama “to build a fairer, greener and more prosperous world for all.”
Meanwhile, interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae took to Twitter to express his congratulations in both official languages.
“Congrats to President Obama, and best wishes for the next four years,” he wrote. “A remarkably hard fought race. Big decisions ahead.”
At a party hosted by the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa on Tuesday night, Conservative MP Laurie Hawn said he had long predicted an Obama victory. Hawn said a Romney administration may have been more philosophically in line with the Harper government. But on issues related to Canada, Hawn said, he felt the differences between the two candidates were not that significant — even on the Keystone XL pipeline.
“It didn’t matter who was going to win, Keystone was going to happen,” he said. “That was 100 per cent U.S. electoral politics. Everybody knew that, so quit kidding me.
Liberal MP Irwin Cotler, attending the same party, said he felt that a second Obama term was better for Canada than a Romney administration.
“I think (Obama’s) approach to issues such as health, education, immigration, on all these things we dovetail more with Obama’s policy on these matters than we might with Romney,” he said.