With the political climate of the U.S. created by President Donald Trump in his second term in office, how has it impacted Canada and UW in particular? Since the beginning of his second term in office, a multitude of controversial Executive Orders has been announced, including tariff implementations on virtually all Canadian goods, militarization of the U.S. border, and other policy changes that significantly harm DEI initiatives, immigrants, minorities, women, and the LGBTQIA+ community.
On a smaller scale, some students may be avoiding buying strawberries or U.S. imported goods because of tariffs. On a larger scale, students may be changing life plans to accommodate for the new reality. Nina Difelice, a third-year psychology and sociology student, states: “It definitely has changed where and how I plan to continue my education. I would’ve loved to go to the [U.S.] for grad school, but with all the tensions [sic], I’m seriously rethinking.”
But what seems to be the logistical impact on UW as a whole? To start, travelling to the U.S. has proved difficult for Canadians and inbound immigrants with tighter border control. Canadians and other foreigners that wish to enter the U.S. are reporting difficulties crossing the U.S. border, and even being detained. For UW professors, the Canadian Association of University Teachers has advised against non-essential travel. This means that conferences, events, and research engagement may be attended less often by UW faculty to avoid potential travel complications or lack of desire to support the U.S. during this time.
Professor and associate dean of the faculty of arts, Katherine Acheson, has expressed concerns about the impact of Trump’s presidency. While Acheson regularly attends conferences and visits family in the U.S., she states, “I am deeply alarmed about what is happening in the U.S. in terms of militarization, civil rights, persecution of non-white people, and erosion of the rights of women and non-binary people.”
The last time Acheson was in the U.S. was earlier this year in March, when she attended a conference in Boston. “People we expected to be there weren’t, because they were concerned about getting through the border security with X for the gender of their passport or, more broadly, they felt sufficiently unsettled by events at that point that they decided not to come. I will not be travelling to the U.S. for professional or personal reasons for the foreseeable future.”
In addition to professors, varsity sports teams at UW may also be impacted.
Brian Bourque, head coach of men’s hockey and associate director of UW Athletics, has been leading varsity athletics since 2015. To him, what’s already been notably unique is having the discussion around travelling to the U.S., when there previously was not an approval process and going south of the border was a “no-brainer.”
For each varsity team that wants to travel to the U.S. and compete, coaches have been requested to have a conversation with the athletes to see if they are still comfortable doing so. Based on the teams’ response, there would be further conversation as to whether to continue to travel or not.
Bourque and director of UW Athletics and Recreation Roly Webster are prioritizing engaging with coaches and athletes, “giving them comfort and support to go [to the U.S.] and support to not go.” It is made very clear to athletes that a decision not to go is supported and not penalized. Additionally, Bourque outlines the different scenarios, like if a student decided against going, “the team would [discuss] and ask, ‘should we go? We’re a team…’” He has also noted that there are other hockey coaches who have decided not to participate in NCAA competitions due to the current situation, when they typically have in the past.
The coaches and teams would also plan and discuss what happens if someone were to be stopped at the border, in regards to situations like phone confiscation.
Interestingly, there may be some reverse impact as some athletes that previously decided to go to the U.S. may change their mind or even come back to UW. “Numbers are not massive but I wasn’t expecting a third-year player who is good to come back,” Bourque says. “[We] can help but not now. There’s not enough space in the lineup and things need to be moved around.”
Similarly, CTV has reported an increase in American students’ interest to study in Canada. A UW spokesperson stated:
“The University of Waterloo has not seen an overall increase in student applications from the U.S. over the past year. However, some faculties, including engineering, have seen increased interest and applications from potential students. Anecdotally, we have seen an increase in U.S. visitors to the UW Visitors Centre on campus, and web traffic that originates in the U.S. has increased by 15 per cent since September 2024.”
With that being said, U.S. high-school students who are incoming first years to UW have not cited any political reasons for their choice.
Ethan Margolin, who currently resides in Maryland, will be joining the mechatronics engineering program at UW in fall 2025. For him, he applied because he was interested in the program. Accepting his offer came down to liking the campus, the co-op program, design teams, and the city itself, rather than the politics between the U.S. and Canada, which was not something he considered while applying. However, his perspective has shifted since Trump has taken office. “[Seeing] the Ivies lose federal funding makes me more confident about going to Waterloo,” he said, referring to top Ivy League universities like Harvard and Columbia University being threatened with losing federal funding.
Similarly, Luca Balenger, who moved from Canada to California when he was nine, has accepted his offer to computer engineering at UW. Like Margolin, the politics between the U.S. and Canada were not a deciding factor, as he primarily considered Canadian tuition, co-op opportunities, and industry connections.
Aside from the impact on postsecondary institutions and the academic environment, changes in U.S. policy and uncertainty around critical infrastructure are also impacting the community as more initiatives aimed at U.S. professionals are announced. On June 5, Ontario’s Minister of Health Sylvia Jones announced that the government would help fast-track U.S.-licensed healthcare providers to practice in Ontario. U.S.-certified doctors and nurses would be able to work in Ontario healthcare settings for up to six months before requiring registration with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO) or the College of Nurses of Ontario (CNO).
Jenna Petker, Director of Health and Physician Recruitment from the Greater KW Chamber of Commerce, has seen inquiries from physicians south of the border who are looking to practice in KW. “In the last year, we’ve [had] more interest from US physicians…Many are Canadians who did their training in the US and are looking to relocate home,” she said in an interview with Imprint. “The majority of them have ties to the community or are Canadian,” she added, which means fewer immigration barriers for them to practice more easily in healthcare settings. “Having a streamlined process and pathway to practice [more easily and quickly] in Ontario, I think, will be beneficial over the course of the next few months or years.”
Linnea C., whose real name has been changed for privacy, is a UW graduate now working in the pharmacy division of Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto, also agreed that allowing U.S. physicians and nurses would help address community needs like the ongoing family doctor shortage. “I don’t think there would be worse competition for doctors and nurses because we really are lacking those,” she said, regarding the impact on the job market for local Canadians going into healthcare. She cited an acquaintance who needed a brain CT scan but the earliest appointment available would be in November, one of many stories of those who endure long wait times for appointments in public healthcare partly due to the lack of qualified healthcare professionals.
However, sufficient support and proper integration into the healthcare system would be crucial to making this work. “I’m concerned about the culture or mentality clash of US trained medical professionals like charging the most expensive treatment or [having a] money mindset…[the news] sounds great but the details of the execution [are] very important.”
As politics and international relations continue to fluctuate, students, alumni, and faculty continue to reorient themselves and try to adjust to changes inside and outside UW. Only time will tell what the full extent of those changes will be.
