Canadian expats currently living in Britain said they are unsure what the Brexit vote will mean for their future in Europe. Canadians either living in the U.K. or with ties to the country expressed a range of emotions Friday, after Britons voted to leave the European Union:
Carmody Wilson Hallamore, originally from Sask., voted to stay
Carmody Wilson Hallamore, who is currently based in London, told CTV Saskatoon that she and her fellow Londoners, who voted overwhelmingly in favour of staying in the EU, are still trying to digest the information.
鈥淚 voted to stay in, so I鈥檓 a little unhappy, but everything鈥檚 been happening so fast that it鈥檚 hard to keep track of all the changes,鈥� Hallamore said, adding there is currently 鈥渕assive uncertainty鈥� in the U.K. over Thursday鈥檚 referendum.
鈥淭he markets completely went into free fall nobody knows what that means, what it鈥檒l be like tomorrow, three months, we don鈥檛 know,鈥� Hallamore said.
As a Canadian living in the U.K., Hallamore said she is unsure how the vote to leave the EU will affect her visa restrictions.
鈥淭here was some noise from the 鈥榣eave鈥� campaign to say that they would favour Commonwealth applicants like myself over EU applicants if we were to leave the EU,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut 鈥� it depends on what agreement they make subsequent to a new government being formed. So again that鈥檚 all up in the air.鈥�
Graeme Bennett, of St. Mary鈥檚 Ont., voted to leave EU
Bennett, who is a dual citizen who was born in Northern Ireland before moving to Canada, said he voted to leave the EU because the union has become too political in recent years, rather than focusing solely on trade.
鈥淢ore and more powers have been consolidated in Brussels rather than London,鈥� he told The Canadian Press. 鈥淭his is going to give the power back to the local politicians where it should be.鈥�
He added he鈥檚 not 鈥渁gainst free trade,鈥� and noted that countries don鈥檛 need to be in a 鈥減olitical union鈥� in order to do trade with them.
Cynthia Kennedy, originally from Que., voted to stay
Cynthia Kennedy, a Canadian who holds dual citizenship and lives in the U.K., said she was deeply 鈥渟addened鈥� by the outcome, and thinks a lot of voters were 鈥渘aïve.鈥�
She fears for sustained economic instability as the Brexit vote rocked world markets and sent the British pound plunging to its lowest level since 1985.
鈥淚鈥檓 very pleased for my Canadian friends and family who may be planning a holiday on this side of the Atlantic because the exchange rate is very much in their favour in the moment, but I think we鈥檙e going to be hurting a lot more before things get better,鈥� Kennedy said.
Kennedy said that things are 鈥渞aw at the moment, and it鈥檚 going to take a little while for things to calm down.鈥� She added that even as a dual citizen who holds British citizenship, she feels 鈥渦nwelcome in this country at the moment, and that is unspeakably sad.鈥�
While some with ties to Canada criticized the vote, others said they were supportive of Britain鈥檚 break from the EU.
David Whitford, of Norwich, Ont., supported 鈥榣eave鈥� campaign
David Whitford, who came to Canada from England nearly half a century ago, says he would have voted to leave the EU if he was back in the U.K.
鈥淭he idea of the EU was very good, but it got out of hand,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t became too political with somebody in Brussels telling everybody what to do.鈥�
Debora Rexho, supported 鈥榮tay鈥� campaign
Rexho has long dreamed of becoming a permanent resident of the U.K. Part of that dream centred around having the ability to work in other European countries with a U.K. passport.
Rexho believes Thursday鈥檚 vote will disproportionately effect younger demographics, which overwhelmingly supported the 鈥渟tay鈥� campaign while older voters were more inclined to support the 鈥渓eave鈥� camp.
"Obviously the younger people are the people who are going to have to live with this decision for much longer," she told The Canadian Press.
"It is a bit of a shame, especially because the voter turnout, I think, was higher for the older generation."
With files from The Canadian Press
