U.S. presidential debate watch party draws dozens in Vancouver

Democrats Abroad hosted a debate watch party in Vancouver on June 27, 2024.

Dozens of supporters of U.S. President Joe Biden filled a restaurant in Mount Pleasant Thursday night to watch the much-anticipated debate between him and former president Donald Trump.

Democrats Abroad organized the watch party

"We know that we have about 6.5 million Americans that live across the globe that are eligible to vote, in Canada alone we have 620,000 Americans and those votes are critical,” said Jennifer Phillips, the chair of Vancouver’s Democrats Abroad.

"We have proven to be the margin of victory in critical races."

The debate showed Trump and Biden's deep divides over immigration, abortion and foreign policy, decisions that Maya Miller, who watched the event, believes can be reflected in Canada.

"What happens in America completely affects us here in Canada. So I think to pretend it's not happening would be wrong, it's very important to pay attention," Miller said.

The 90 minutes also included plenty of name-calling and even a dispute over who's the better golfer.

While Vancouver’s event was hosted for Democrats, not all Biden supporters felt the current president's performance was up to par.

"I'd actually like to see two totally different candidates,” said Kathryn Warren. Both her husband and mother are from the U.S. – a reason she keeps a close eye on American politics.

"I’m just hearing so many old, tired ideas and also the way these men express themselves is not contemporary, it's very difficult to follow and it's not representative of what Americans deserves."

She called the debate disappointing.

“Trump is answering his own questions, they’re not fact checking him and Biden’s responses are rambling and very difficult to follow.”

But for Fernando GC Santalo, he believes Biden is a better option.

“I came here looking for a better life,” said GC Santalo, whose father and sister live in America after they left Mexico.

“It just seems that telling the truth, is politically less convenient than telling lies … is this the type of world that my baby sister is going to grow up in America, especially if Donald Trump wins? It's very terrifying.”

Democrats Abroad’s goal is to encourage those who don’t live in America to vote. The organization estimates there was an eight per cent turnout for voters in Canada in 2020.

Thursday's presidential debate was the first of two taking place before the Nov. 5 election.