Toronto man living, working in London 'uncertain of future' in U.K. after Brexit

For Toronto-native Brendan Cormier a European Union passport has provided "a world of possibility" for nearly a decade — but as the final votes were counted and Britain chose to leave the EU, Cormier faced an uncertain reality.

For the past two years, Cormier has been able to work and live in London because of his Irish passport.

"Now I'm faced with this problem where there's quite a bit of uncertainty about what the EU passport will mean for me," said Cormier on Friday. 

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"We kind of just have to wait and see. Most people are trying to be rather reassuring that there will be options for people already living in the U.K.," Cormier told CBC News. "But that's all, just basically guessing at the moment. No one really knows what it means."  

The 34-year-old museum curator was born in Toronto, but has dual nationality because of his Irish grandmother. He figured out that he could get the second passport when he was in his 20s and has been using it as a key to unlock Europe ever since, having studied in Germany and worked in Holland before moving to London.

A passport from an EU, like Ireland, gives a person the right to live and work in any other European country that's part of the 28-member bloc. Right now that still includes Britain — but probably not for much longer thanks to the Brexit vote.

"If I were to come to the U.K. on a Canadian passport I'd have to apply for a visa and a lot of employers simply don't want to bother going through the application process," Cormier said. 

Right now he works as the lead curator of 20th and 21st century design at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, where he says most people were "rather hopeful" that Britain would vote to remain in the EU.

Cormier himself was able to contribute to that effort by voting to remain through what he calls a "weird loophole." His ability to vote in the referendum hinged on his Canadian passport not his Irish one. As a London resident with a passport from a British Commonwealth country he was allowed to cast a ballot. Unfortunately for him and the rest of those wishing to stay in EU, there just weren't enough votes.

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"It's rather grim in London, the mood is a little bit depressing," said Cormier. "Nobody really knows how things are going to play out over the next month, over the next year." 

The majority of Londoners voted to remain in the EU, but overall results released Friday show the Leave side prevailed 52 per cent to 48 per cent in Thursday's vote as tallied by British broadcasters, with a Remain win a mathematical impossibility.

Cormier says that compared to the rest of the U.K., London has a much closer connection to Europe in terms of the economy and diversity.

"There are so many people who have European friends, European colleagues, are married to Europeans and there's a kind of connectedness here where people realize the value of staying," said Cormier. 

"What's going on elsewhere is really hard for me to understand personally."