'Bushophobic' Canadians watching U.S. election

MONTREAL — Measured by shared boundaries and trade, no foreign country has a larger stake in the U.S. presidential election than Canada. Its citizens, by an overwhelming margin, hope for President Bush's defeat, but its government — unsure of the Nov. 2 outcome — is trying to keep bilateral tensions from escalating.

Many Canadians have intently followed the campaign, watching the TV debates and writing impassioned letters to newspapers. Two recent polls showed Democrat John Kerry favored by more than 2-to-1 across Canada; in French-speaking Quebec, Bush's support was only 11 percent.

Bush's decision to invade Iraq has been a major factor. After the invasion last year, Montreal Canadiens fans began booing during the U.S. national anthem, and anti-war protesters even jeered a Massachusetts youth hockey team at a tournament.

"Canadians have become leading Bushophobes," said Gil Troy, a New York City native who teaches history at Montreal's McGill University. "The fundamental U.S.-Canada relationship remains incredibly strong. . . . but there's an extreme demonization of Bush, a notion of him as an uncultured cowboy."

The unpredictability of the election, and the pervasive anti-Bush sentiment, present the Canadian government with delicate challenges as it works to maintain constructive relations with its far more powerful neighbor.

On one hand, the Liberal Party government disappointed the White House by refusing to send troops to Iraq. The world's largest trading partners also are feuding over Canadian lumber exports and a U.S. ban on Canadian cattle imposed last year because of fears of mad cow disease.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Paul Martin has pledged repeatedly to improve ties with the United States — which deteriorated under his predecessor, Jean Chretien. Martin's government has worked closely with U.S. officials on border security and has irked left-wing opposition parties by negotiating on a partnership in the United States' new continental missile defense program.

Though a final decision on joining the missile program has not been made, Defense Minister Bill Graham clearly favors a Canadian role — regardless of whether Bush is re-elected.

"It's not about American domestic politics. It's about North American security," Graham told the Ottawa Citizen. "Whether it's Republican or Democrat down there, we want them to look us in the eye and say, 'We're your partner.' "