Members of the community are invited to the St. Catharines Public Library to hear from a panel of political scientists about the upcoming Trump presidency.

“Donald Trump and U.S. Authoritarian Turn: Implications for the United States, Canada, and the World” runs from 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Mills Room at the Central Branch in downtown St. Catharines on Monday, Jan. 13.

The event features Associate Professors Stefan Dolgert, Blayne Haggart and Pascal Lupien from Brock’s Department of Political Science as well as a postdoctoral fellow Caroline Dunton from Queen’s University. It follows on a post-election panel held on campus in the fall as well as a series of public library events prior to Trump’s previous inauguration in 2016.

“As a border community, we in Niagara, I think, are particularly attuned to the importance of Canada’s relationship with the United States,” says Haggart. “This event, which is co-sponsored by the St. Catharines Public Library, is a chance to discuss these issues with the wider Niagara community — to share what we know about Canada-U.S. relations, democracy and multilateralism, but also to hear from people about their own thoughts and concerns.”

Haggart says much of the president-elect’s rhetoric since November has targeted Canadians, “whether it’s his likely-illegal threat to place a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian exports or his continued taunts against the sovereignty of Canada, as well as Mexico and Denmark in Greenland.”

In light of these developments and with the inauguration coming up on Monday, Jan. 20, he hopes community members will attend and engage with the panellists about what the next four years may bring for Niagara and for Canada.

The event is open to the public and free to attend, but advance registration is required as space is limited.