HALIFAX -- There has been plenty of reaction in Canada to U.S. President Donald Trump's health, and its possible impact on the United States Presidential election, taking place Nov. 3.

Walter Doue called the United States his home for more than 20 years. Like many Americans, he's paying close attention to President Trump's battle with the virus.

"It just is unreal," said Walter Doue, an American-Canadian dual citizen. "For him to think that he was above everything, right? That he was never going to come in contact with it. That he was never going to be a part of it, and now all of a sudden, he is front and centre."

"This is a major setback for the Trump campaign," said Cape Breton University science professor, Tom Urbaniak.

Urbaniak says the irony that Trump continually downplayed COVID-19, only to get the virus himself, will no doubt be a factor come Election Day in the United States.

He points out the incumbent president has overcome plenty of political adversity in the past.

"All of those narratives have now been debunked in a spectacular fashion however, I would not write Trump off completely," said Urbaniak.

Riley Nielson, the former chair of Democrats Abroad- Atlantic Provinces, says Trump's illness could actually work in his favour with some voters.

"That it's going to give him a lot more sympathy than he had before," said Nielson. "Especially from those who have been dealing with, or have suffered from COVID, or have had family members who have suffered from COVID."

But Urbaniak says the timing of Trump's illness isn’t ideal for the incumbent.  

He says while people are intrigued, Canadians feel some sympathy for their neighbours to the south.

"As we watch this situation unfold from Atlantic Canada, where we have been generally responsible and very cautious with respect to COVID-19, and where our politics tend to be more civil and more dignified, we look at our American neighbours with, I think, a sense of disbelief and even pity,"

Doue says whatever the outcome of the election, he simply hopes for more stability going forward in America, and a full recovery for Trump.

"I wish him well. I hope he pulls through this," said Doue.