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TORONTO – The Canadian Psychological Association says the U.S. election has worldwide impact and it’s normal for many Canadians to have strong emotions about it — whether they’re positive or negative.

Association president Anita Gupta, a clinical psychologist, says if people are feeling anxious or distressed about the results, they may want to take a break from news coverage and social media.

Gupta says some people may be sleep-deprived from staying up late the last couple of nights to follow the latest developments and she suggests prioritizing sleep tonight.

She says simple acts of self-care, including eating well, staying hydrated, going outside or hugging a loved one can make a difference.

Gupta says some people will feel the need to talk about their feelings of anxiety or distress, but others may not be ready yet.

She says anxiety may worsen in some people who were already struggling, and reaching out to friends, family or a mental health professional can be helpful.

Gupta says a mental health professional can provide a safe space for people to be themselves and talk openly about how they feel, without the risk of offending others who may not share their views.

There’s no “one size fits all” coping strategy, she said, but reminding ourselves of positive things in our lives while still acknowledging feelings about the election can be useful.

Someone might say, “this election was really impactful to me for XYZ reasons and my family loves me and I have a good job and I have friends that will support me,” Gupta said.

Gayle Browne, a senior director at Kids Help Phone, says kids and teens have likely seen and heard things about the U.S. election through social media or listening to their parents’ conversations and may have feelings about it.

Browne suggests parents directly ask their kids about their understanding of the election and if there’s anything they want to talk about.

“I think what a lot of young people, or even adults do, is they might feel a thing and then say, ‘Oh well, that’s stupid. Like, I don’t live in the States. That doesn’t involve me. I don’t need to feel that,'” she said.

Parents can show that it’s OK to have those feelings by opening up a conversation, Browne said.

“So if you were to say to your child like, ‘Hey, this has been on the news all day’ or ‘so many people are talking about this. What do you think?’ … being able to have a space where they can talk about that, that’s really important,” she said.

“When the adults in your life who care about you take your feelings and thoughts seriously, that goes a long way.”

If the election is a “tipping point” for young people who were already struggling with their mental health and parents are worried, they can reach out to a health-care provider or Kids Help Phone, Browne said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage receives support through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.

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MONTREAL – The Royal Canadian Legion branch in Montreal’s Verdun borough meets once a week in a community centre space it rents by the hour, less than 500 metres from the elegant brick building it sold over a decade ago when maintenance costs got too high.

After years of rising rents, a forced move and general instability, its members are happy to have somewhere to meet. But president Darlene Harrison says one question keeps coming back: “When are we going to have our own home again?”

It’s a question she doesn’t know how to answer. She recently went to check out a space, only to find out the rent was $6,700 per month — not including costs like phone and internet.

“All of these things cost money, and until we can generate the funds to cover it, it’s really not feasible at this point in time to try to rent a locale,” she said in a recent phone interview.

Her branch isn’t alone. Even as they fundraise for other community organizations, some legions are having trouble keeping their own lights on amid rising inflation and maintenance costs.

The legion in Grenfell, Sask., recently made the same decision as Verdun and listed its building — a former armoury — for sale.

It’s a matter of “aging membership and aging buildings,” president Ken Box said. With only about 85 members, many of whom no longer live nearby, keeping the building just didn’t make sense.

“We spend way too much of our time fundraising to pay for the expenses on the building, and that takes away from what we’re supposed to be doing, which is supporting veterans and the community and promoting our members,” Box said in a phone interview.

Once the building sells, he said, the legion will move to another space owned by the city, allowing it to focus on its “core values.”

Other legions are fighting to keep their buildings open, one spaghetti dinner, dance and bingo game at a time.

That’s the case in the Cape Breton town of Donkin, N.S. The legion hall was hit hard by post-Tropical Storm Fiona in 2022, which caused extensive roof damage and sent insurance rates shooting upwards.

Against all odds, the legion has managed to pay off its debts and stabilize its finances — something president Wayne Boutilier credits to community support. He said the weekly dart league, businesses that donated goods for a draw, and former residents who continue to pay their dues from other provinces made it possible. More recently, the legion rented its building to the Nova Scotia government for seven weeks to use for the provincial election.

“We’ve got everything pretty much paid off now that we owed,” the former coal miner and retired oilfield worker said. “But you still get your regular bills, like your lights, your heat, your internet.”

While small, rural legions like Donkin’s may be the most vulnerable, they’re not the only ones that struggle. The branch in the eastern Ottawa neighbourhood of Orleans has 800 to 900 members, but it had to turn to GoFundMe to raise money for a new roof in 2020. Its president says the 30-year-old building is still showing its age, and income has not kept up with the rising cost of utilities and maintenance.

“Our main source of income is hall rentals, and we need to update our facilities to attract more rentals,” Wyn Fournier wrote in an email. “However, we don’t have the income to spend money on that. It’s a nasty circle.”

The Royal Canadian Legion said in an email that while a few of its branches may be in trouble, they represent “a very tiny percentage of the whole” and “would not be indicative of what’s going on provincially or nationally.” It noted that overall membership is growing, and that two new branches have recently opened.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced branches to temporarily shut their doors, depleting their financial reserves and putting many at risk of closure. Since then, the situation has stabilized, but the legions that spoke to The Canadian Press say they’re still struggling to rebuild lost savings and lure people back to in-person activities.

The Kingsway Branch in Edmonton, whose finances suffered during the pandemic, is no longer at risk of closure, though financial chairman Ron Wills says it hasn’t fully recovered.

“We’re still having financial difficulties. We’re still living paycheque to paycheque, so to speak,” he said. He said the legion doesn’t rule out having to sell its building one day, though he hopes it doesn’t happen.

Rules around legion fundraising are strict. The money raised by the annual poppy campaign, for example, is reserved exclusively for veterans, leaving legions to pay their bills from membership dues and fundraisers.

Despite the challenges, legion branches say there are positive things happening. In Verdun, Harrison said, a membership drive has helped recruit new, younger members who bring fresh ideas. She’s proud of the work the legion does, which includes supporting local schools and homeless shelters in addition to organizations dedicated to veterans.

She wants people to know they don’t have to be a veteran to join or to offer support — and that more members are always welcome. “If you have an interest in helping and volunteering and doing things for your community, here we are,” she said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

Stories passed down from elders tell how First Nations from afar would paddle their canoes to bathe in the hot springs on the territory of the Sts’ailes First Nation.

They believed the water contained medicine, said Sts’ailes Grand Chief William Charlie.

“Our people have been using it for tens of thousands of years,” he said of the springs he called Qwólts, meaning boiling medicine water.

The steaming waters in the Village of Harrison Hot Springs, 130 kilometres east of Vancouver, could once be enjoyed in pools known as the Hobo Hot Springs for free — unlike the neighbouring Harrison Hot Springs Resort where users of its pools must be resort guests.

But last month, the Hobo Hot Springs were mysteriously filled in with dirt and rocks, surprising the nation, the mayor and local users.

The deliberate destruction has sparked an investigation by British Columbia’s Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship as the pools are a Crown resource and filling in or making changes to the springs would require approval, and none was given.

There’s still a public mineral pool, where water from the springs is diverted. But adult users are charged $16.

The sources of the pools are hot springs on the shore of Harrison Lake known as Potash, with a temperature of 40 C, and Sulphur, at 65 C. They have some of the highest concentrations of minerals of any spring in Canada.

In May, the ministry approved a request from the village to repair the free pools, fixing the rocks around them. It was the only work permit handed out this year.

“We have confirmed that there are no new applications for work in this area. Ministry staff are currently investigating the incident,” said a statement from the ministry.

Village Mayor Fred Talen said they had nothing to do with the destruction, and instead he understands someone from the nearby Harrison Hot Springs Resort had someone fill in the pools.

No one from the resort, which is owned by Aldesta Hotels & Resorts, returned requests for an interview.

But Talen said he spoke to the resort’s general manager last week who relayed concerns about the materials to build the Hobo Hot Springs since it’s located right next to a building owned by the resort to collect spring water.

“There was a concern that that would be kind of considered part of the resort’s property, and that it was a part that the resort was responsible for.”

He said there were a lot of “overlapping interests,” as the resort had a water license for the hot spring and owns a permit to have the building next to the free pools.

“I hope the province, if they’re doing an investigation, they look at the whole scenario and hopefully the report points to the solutions where we can work together to enhance the visitor experience in using the hot springs.”

The mayor said he had meetings planned with the resort to talk about how residents can continue to use water from the springs in a more natural setting.

“Over the last couple of weeks, It’s really clear to me that the residents of Harrison Hot Springs are really interested in preserving and promoting the natural features of Harrison Hot Springs,” said Talen.

The loss of the Hobo Hot Springs has prompted more than 2,000 people to sign a petition that calls for the pools to be restored.

Nico Soebagio-Pawlowski from Victoria launched the petition saying that restoring the pools would be “reviving a part of the ecological and cultural fabric of B.C.”

Harrison Hot Springs resident Loretta Melanson said she was at the pools the day before the destruction and saw people chatting and laughing while in the pools.

“When I went down, I was shocked. I was literally sick to my stomach to think that someone purposely destroyed that beautiful area for people to come and enjoy.”

Melanson moved from the east coast to B.C. years ago for the forests, lakes and mountains in the province, and a key part of the “absolutely gorgeous” copmmunity was the Hobo Hot Springs.

“My most memorable experience would be being able to go there in the mornings this time of year, cool mornings, lots of low-lying clouds, sitting in the springs, enjoying every moment of nature,” said Melanson.

“Anyone can go to an inside pool, I want to be in nature. Enjoying every moment of the peace and quiet.”

Melanson said she hoped the community could come together to figure out the situation.

Charlie said their First Nation should have been consulted before anyone made changes, especially since the hot spring doesn’t “belong exclusively” to the resort or the village.

“I think as long as they are being mindful and being respectful and they’re not doing any damage to the source, to the water, to the habitat, then they should be able to use it.

“And just like our people, we don’t want to be excluded from going there,” said Charlie.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.