(UPDATE: Nov. 6 @ 8:20 am) - Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet colleagues have spoken to the press about the victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election.
"First, I want to congratulate Donald on a decisive victory last night," he said in Ottawa. "I look forward to working with President Trump once again."
Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland also commented on the Republican's victory, emphasizing the strong economic links between Canada and the US.
"Our partnership in no way undercuts American workers," she said, "and I know that that is at the heart of the concerns of President Trump and his team."
Health Minister Mark Holland, however, struck a different note.
"I think that reproductive rights... it's been a long battle to make sure women have autonomy over their own body," he said, adding that there have been "many setbacks" in the "long and winding road" leading to "women's right to an abortion."
Abortion was one of the main points of debate in the US election, with the Democrats claiming the Republicans wanted to introduce a nationwide ban of the practice.
The Republicans denied that claim.
(UPDATE: Nov. 6 @ 5:06 am) - Donald Trump has won the 2024 US presidential election.
According to projections from news agencies in the United States, the Republican has won in Georgia, North Carolina, Wisconsin and the all-important Pennsylvania.
Michigan, Arizona and Nevada, the other three crucial states in the election, have not yet been called.
Trump's party has also taken control of the Senate after flipping three seats in its favour.
Speaking to supporters earlier this morning, the 78-year-old said: "We're going to help our country heal. We have a country that needs help, and it needs help very badly.
"We're going to fix our borders; we're going to fix everything about our country."
Among the world leaders to congratulate Trump on his remarkable comeback victory was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who posted an image of himself and the president-elect on social media accompanied by a message praising the US-Canada "friendship.""I know President Trump and I will work together to create more opportunity, prosperity, and security for both of our nations," he said.
It's unlikely to be a particularly smooth affair, however, since Trudeau and his lieutenants have for years been censuring the president-elect, in both subtle and no-so-subtle ways.
Trump, meanwhile, has pledged to prioritize the American economy, promising to bring a "golden age" to the country.
He also said he will bring peace to the world, pledging to "stop wars."
"We're the party of common sense," he said. "We want to have borders, we want to have security, we want to have things be good, safe."
(UPDATE: Nov. 6 @ midnight) - Donald Trump has one foot in the White House.
Fox News has projected the former president as a winner in the 2024 presidential election.
Other networks like CNN and NBC have yet to officially declare him a winner, but are reporting that he's on the cusp of victory.
Trump declared his own victory around 2:30 am ET from a watch party in West Palm Beach, Fla.
He was in a jovial mood as he delivered remarks to thousands of supporters with family, staff and some famous supporters, like Dana White and Bryson DeChambeau, by his side.
Trump talked about promises made along the campaign trail and vowed that his presidency would be based on a motto of "promise made, promise kept."
Near the end of the speech, he called for unity in the United States and said he would fight with "every breath in (his) body" to deliver a "strong, safe and prosperous America."
Kamala Harris is expected to make a public address on Wednesday.
(Original story: Nov. 5 @ 10 pm) - The results are still streaming in, but it appears as though a second term as president is on the horizon for Donald Trump.
It was expected to be a tight race between Trump and Kamala Harris, with the balance of power hanging in the votes out of the swing states.
Polls generally suggested pre-election that Trump had a narrow lead in the majority of those key battlegrounds and that is what has played out tonight so far.
Major news networks south of the border have called North Carolina and Georgia in favour of the Republicans, and Trump currently has an advantage in all-important Pennsylvania as well.
The former president even leads the current vice-president in Michigan and Wisconsin, which many pollsters had Harris favoured to win.
The final two swing states, Arizona and Nevada, are too early to call.
While too early to declare Trump victorious, the Republican Party has already secured one big win this evening by taking control of the Senate.
It happened thanks to GOP Sen. Bernie Moreno’s triumph over incumbent Democrat Sherrod Brown in Ohio, along with GOP Sen. Deb Fischer holding off independent Dan Osborn in a surprisingly tight race in Nevada.
The contrasting vibes were obvious at Kamala Harris’ watch party at her alma mater, Howard University, and Trump’s festivities in Florida.
Democrat supporters dispersed after being told Harris wouldn’t speak until Wednesday, while Republican backers danced and cheered at every passing update.
Although some states may not have results until the morning, Trump could be declared victorious well before that if Pennsylvania is called in his favour.
