Ottawa residents react to Trump inauguration

New Yorkers Gabby and Desmond Lafontant at Flame.

Televisions were tuned in to the inauguration on this side of the border.

What happens in the United States has a huge impact on us, and for some Canadians, these are worrying times.

It is high noon, and New Yorkers Gabby Lafontant and her 11-year-old son Desmond aren't anywhere near a TV set to watch their president's inauguration, let alone near Washington.

“That's okay,” says Lafontant, as she snaps a photo of Desmond in front of the Centennial Flame at Parliament Hill, “I think this is where we need to be right now, and enjoy it.”

Lafontant and Desmond are a little worried about what's to come under a Trump administration.  They are seriously considering extending their visit to Ottawa.

“We love it and just might end up staying,” she says, “It all depends on what happens.”

At the University of Ottawa, students and professors have gather for a noon-hour discussion on the U.S. inauguration and to watch history unfold.

There’s also a Trump cake someone has made, with a black fondant cut-out of Trump’s profile.

“It's a dark day,” says Jasmine Bouchard, who made the cake, “I would have made the cake pink if Hillary had won but now it's black.”

For uOttawa political studies professor Emily Regan Wills, who is from Philadephia, Trump's win worries her both from a political and personal perspective.

“I'm a lesbian and I have kids,” she says, “and certainly questions about family protection are very important to me which this administration makes a little worrisome.  So I'm glad to have a set of Canadian attachments to draw on right now.”

For many of the students attending the noon-hour discussion, this is a time to watch and react.

Hannah Martin studies political science, “I think it's important to engage in Canadian politics right now,” she says, “especially with the upcoming Conservative leadership election and engage with them what we want in Canadian politics and what we don't want.”

Alan Freeman is a journalist, who has reported for the Globe and Mail in Washington and is now an Honorary Senior Fellow with the School of Public and International Affairs, “What happens in the U.S. if we're going to have erratic leadership from the president of the U.S., it has a huge impact on all of us.”

Ottawa's mayor says that highlights the urgency to appoint an ambassador here.

“Having a pipeline to the U.S. capital is important to our country and our city so the sooner we have a representative from the U.S. government and from Trump, the better is for Ottawa and for Canada.”

Watson adds that, while traditionally, one of the first orders of business for the new U.S. President is to visit Canada; he has mixed emotions about that.

“On one hand, you want the president to come to the country.  It shows the importance of the relationship, but as mayor, the challenge with the number of protestors that would come out will put a stress and financial strain on police and first responders. I have to think about it from a practical point of view, as well as a diplomatic point of view.”

It is clear Obama has left a lasting impression on our country.  The Obama cookie is still a top seller at Le Moulin de Provence, the Byward Market bakery where the former U.S. President stopped during a visit to Ottawa in 2009.

“Whether we see a Trump cookie,” says owner Claude Bonnet, “depends on whether Trump visits us. We will have to see.”

So if there is a Trump cookie, what might it look like? Well, perhaps the Trump tower.  Or maybe a wall.  But on thing is certain, to quote Donald Trump, it's gonna be big league.