OTTAWA -- Canada’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says that “either outcome” of next week’s U.S. presidential election will “be significant for Canada.”

During a virtual speech to the Toronto Global Forum, Freeland said—as Trudeau has in the past—that the federal government is preparing behind the scenes for the various potential scenarios that the Nov. 3 election could bring. 

“What I would like to assure Canadians is just as in 2016, we prepared then carefully for any possible election outcome,” Freeland said. “Likewise when it comes to the U.S. election next week, either outcome will be significant for Canada. We have spent a lot of time carefully analyzing what either outcome would mean.”

Freeland said that as has been the case over the last four years, the federal Liberals will continue to “manage” the relationship, regardless if U.S. President Donald Trump gets reelected or Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden wins. 

Offering an anecdote about the preparations the government has taken in the past, she said that in 2016 when Trump took office, the day after the vote, Canada’s trade negotiators had prepared on her desk a report outlining what the government’s position should be, should the new U.S. administration look to renegotiate NAFTA. 

“That was very important that they had anticipated that possibility and that we were ready to go,” Freeland said. 

In many ways, the outcome of the U.S. election will impact Canada. CTVNews.ca has compiled the promises and track records of both Trump and Biden related to key cross-border issues, and spoke with experts about what the next four years might look like under either leader.