Ex-U.S. ambassador warns Canada of Obama

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OTTAWA, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A former U.S. ambassador to Canada says if Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wins, it will hurt Canada.

Speaking Monday in Ottawa to the Canadian Defense and Foreign Affairs Institute annual meeting, Paul Cellucci said the North American Free Trade Agreement would be targeted by a Democratic majority, the Ottawa Citizen reported.

"The reason I say it's a little bit of a danger for Canada is because if the polls are right -- and I hope that they're not -- but if they're right, we could have Barack Obama as president of the United States with over, maybe 60 United States senators in the Democratic column and a pretty strong majority in the House of Representatives," Cellucci said.

The former Republican governor of Massachusetts told the gathering Obama's stance on NAFTA became apparent at a Democratic candidate's debate ahead of the Ohio primary, when it emerged Obama favored renegotiation to include environmental and labor standards.

"There will be pressure on Barack Obama to ... open up NAFTA and make significant changes," Cellucci said. "I don't think that's in U.S. interest; I don't think that's in Canadian interest."

The U.S. election is Nov. 4.