Former Royal Bank of Canada chief executive Gord Nixon says that the winner of the U.S. presidential election won’t mean much for Canadian businesses, adding that the impact on the country’s economic activity is “less obvious” than what most people would think.

With ballots still being counted and the outcome of the election remaining uncertain Wednesday, the current chair of BNN Bloomberg parent company BCE Inc. said that though a Joe Biden victory would make Canadians feel more confident about the U.S., a leadership change in the White House would have a minimal effect on Canadian firms.

“Everybody knows that if Joe Biden were to become president, we would certainly feel better: There'd be more certainty, there'd be less anxiousness, less volatility and there'd be a restoration to some of the traditional global relationships that have been an important part of our economic well being,” Nixon told BNN Bloomberg in an interview. “Having said that, from a purely business perspective it probably isn't significantly different.”

Nixon said there are pros and cons to both candidates when it comes to what their presidency would mean to the Canadian economy. In particular, a Donald Trump victory would likely lead to a better outlook for the Canadian energy sector as well as the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline project, Nixon said.

Nixon added that no matter who takes control of the White House, Canada will still have to deal with anti-trade sentiment south of the border. While Biden is widely viewed as having a more liberal trade stance than Trump’s “America First” approach, anti-trade factions within the Democratic Party could put pressure on a Biden administration to impose more protectionist policies.

“Both President Trump and (former) vice-president Biden have been very strong on ‘Buy America,’” he said. “The trade aggravations are going to be there in both cases, particularly when you have a Democratic House and a Republican Senate.”