Eastern Ontario's American neighbours swing to Donald Trump

Eastern Ontario's closest American neighbours swung to Donald Trump at the voting booth on Tuesday, just like the country as a whole.

St. Lawrence County, which runs on the opposite side of the St. Lawrence River roughly from Mallorytown to Cornwall and includes communities such as Ogdensburg, Massena and Potsdam, broke its recent trend when a majority of voters went for the Republican presidential ticket.

When CBC News went to Ogdensburg on voting day, reporters heard that Trump's message of change, jobs and opportunity was resonating with many people in that waterfront border city who complained of closed factories and a lack of young people who wanted to live there.

Here's what some Ogdensburg residents had to say on Wednesday.

Elaine Thompson, voted Trump

"I would like to see a woman be president, really. At one time I thought she was [the one]. I guess the media gave me more knowledge about her life, because she ran before and I sort of, kind of supported her before. I just think the media played too much into the politics. We had too much knowledge."

Dan Skamperle

"[He's] the lesser of two evils. I'm not satisfied with either candidate 100 per cent, probably not even 80 or 75 per cent. In my own personal opinion I'm choosing Donald Trump over Hillary as simply the lesser of two evils. And I'm a Democrat.

"I think both parties are split. The Democratic party has a conservative side, a liberal side, an ultra-liberal side — and that's who happens to be in control in the moment.

"The things that make me a Democrat as opposed to crossing the Republican line [are] I'm pro labour, pro-union… I believe in fair trade, not free trade, because then you get involved in slave labour and things of that nature. I believe in the Constitution, our civil liberties, our rights, and I believe unfortunately that the liberal side of the Democratic party wants to infringe on those rights."

Jessie Mason

"I'm not very impressed about it. I don't believe in what he believes in. War, that's what I think he believes in.

"Way too many people are for the rich old white guy."

Tae Hui

"I expected it and I'm happy with it. He's not a real politician so he doesn't owe anybody, he's going to clean politics. Hillary owes a lot of people favours. I like his energy, he's enthusiastic, I think there's going to be a big change.

"The first time he came out I kind of felt like I wasn't sure about him but when time went by, I saw him all the time on the television I started to support him."

Nicholas Serio

​"I'm not very confident. I was very disappointed with the whole electoral process this year based on who was nominated. I think we didn't have really good choices. I'm not really happy with either of them.

"I think people in the United States are really tired of politicians that don't enact any meaningful change. There's a whole segment of American society, middle class, that's gone. They resent the fact the American dream has passed them by and they're interested in seeking an alternative to career politicians.

"I was on the Canadian website this morning, as a matter of fact. I'd seriously consider [moving to Canada]. I'm fed up with American politics. [They're] driven by a variety of factors that aren't in the best interest of the American public… I like the progressiveness of the Canadian people, I like the spirit of the Canadian people and the friendliness of the Canadian people."

Brian Pierce

"Up here in upstate New York, if you saw the map it mostly went Republican up here. The economy up here has really been devastated the last 30 years of my lifetime. I've seen a lot of plants and stuff close up here, I think a lot of it had to do with some of the prior policies of people related to Hillary. I think that people are finally fed up and we need a change."

"I'm very hopeful. I have a couple of young boys, the way the dynamics are in the world and the U.S. it's disheartening. But I hope this is a wake-up call. I don't think it's going to be a huge change, I don't think it's going to be a huge epiphany or anything but maybe people start realizing that the status quo of current politics needs to change. It needs to be more of what our country started off as, middle-class people busting our backs trying to make things work here."