American expats gather in Windsor for first U.S. presidential debate watch party

In Windsor, American expats gathered at a downtown sports bar on Tuesday night to watch the highly anticipated U.S. presidential debate.

Hosted by Democrats Abroad, the event drew dozens to The G.O.A.T. Tap and Eatery for the first face-off between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

While the venue usually features football or hockey on its screens, this night was all about political fervor.

“It’s a competitive event,” said Michael Breshgold, chair of the Windsor chapter of Democrats Abroad. “People love talking about politics. So this is a great night to do it.”

The watch party aimed to rally some of the thousands of eligible U.S. voters in the Windsor area.

According to Breshgold, there are at least 10,000 American citizens in the region.

Canada is home to the largest population of Americans living abroad, with 516,309 eligible U.S. voters in 2020, according to the U.S. Federal Voting Assistance Program.

American expats gather in Windsor for first U.S. presidential debate watch party on Sept. 10, 2024. (Source: Michael Breshgold)Despite this, turnout has been historically low, with only eight per cent casting ballots in the last election.

In preparation for the upcoming U.S. election, Democrats Abroad is ramping up efforts to boost voter participation.

“We’ve got some billboards and we’re going to do visibility campaigns outside the tunnel and bridge where people can see us,” Breshgold added.

Across the political aisle, the Canadian chapter of Republicans Overseas chose not to host a similar event.

According to Georganne Burke, the group's Canadian chapter lead, the Republican base in Canada is smaller.

“They’re heavily weighted in favor of Democrats. We know that. So we don’t have the big numbers in each location to do it,” she said.

Still, Burke emphasized the need to mobilize Republican voters ahead of the election.

“We’re going to put a big push on in the next 60 days to get people to register,” she said, adding, “You’re right across the bridge from Detroit, so we know we have a lot of Americans.”