Canadians are on edge this morning as one of the most chaotic (and perhaps important) elections in U.S. history drags on without a clear winner in sight.

As one local man so astutely described our collective feelings this morning: "It feels like I'm living on top of a meth lab ready to explode."

Whether the presidency is retained by Republican incumbent and reality television star Donald Trump, snatched away by Democratic challenger and former Vice President Joe Biden, or somehow awarded to a dark horse challenger like Kanye West, Toronto needs to know: Do we brace civil war or the greatest diss track of all time?

I’m kinda scared about trump winning bcse he has a cult following even here in Toronto, you’ll see anti maskers protests flying his flag right here in a city that has no affiliation with him

— n📌📌ra (@noora_gamboora) November 4, 2020

Ye doesn't stand a chance, sadly, as we all well know, but as of 9 a.m. on Nov. 4, Biden and Trump are neck-and-neck with 50.1 and 48.3 per cent of the popular vote respectively. 

Election Day has come and gone but millions of ballots are still being counted. This isn't how we, as America's closest ally, wanted it to go down: Many of us in Toronto thought when going to sleep last night that we'd wake up to the news of a winner, one way or another.

And yet, the U.S. election continues to dominate our conversations, our news cycle, our waking thoughts and our unconscious nightmares.

Since we won't know who will win the election even by tomorrow, then I'll say good night now and pray all night for a #BidenHarris2020 win. pic.twitter.com/7UyPoEnAr5

— Kristyn Wong-Tam (@kristynwongtam) November 4, 2020

Even if every state somehow counts all of its mail-in ballots today, even if the electoral college votes are decided within a few hours, analysts say it could be days before a clear winner can be called... and even then, this thing could drag on for weeks, if not months.

Trump, who prematurely claimed victory in the race early Wednesday morning, promised to settle the election in the Supreme Court if things don't go his way.

Biden's campaign has similarly pledged to fight back by any legal means necessary.

Woke up to messages from US friends asking for neighbourhood recommendations in Toronto.

Unbelievable that the election is playing out this closely after four catastrophic years, but somehow, I'm not surprised.

— susan feng 🌎 冯博雅 (@smoozle) November 4, 2020

It's all a big mess, to be frank, and Toronto residents are nervous about what that could mean for our economy...

I didn’t quite realize the high stress this election was causing (even as a Canadian) until I spontaneously cried when I saw Michigan flipping Blue.

— Arlene Dickinson (@ArleneDickinson) November 4, 2020

Our real estate market...

No Americans allowed in Toronto if Trump wins, y'all are going to fuck the real estate market up.....LMFAOO

— Five Stacks (@500KFlea) November 4, 2020

And our relationship with our southern neighbours.

Being in a liberal bubble such as Toronto, millions of Canadians have no idea what real America is, and base their predictions on a few days of vacation they take every year. They see Trump and his followers as an anomaly. Not the norm. I hope this wakes them to a new reality.

— Battousai (@battousai1130) November 4, 2020

That said, the situation is also forcing us to reflect on how comparatively smooth our own federal elections run.

Let’s be proud of our election process here in Canada and comforted to know that our elections are fully resolved 2 minutes after the polls close in Toronto. pic.twitter.com/GxfENwEUnj

— NearNorth (@2AforCanada) November 4, 2020

And when all is said and done, at least we can say we've never elected Donald Trump as our leader.

That all depends on where it is you're waking up.
Here in Toronto it's going to be a high of 17 and Trump isn't ruining the country.

So yes, good morning.

Love for all cultures.

We are one pic.twitter.com/7vwhWQp0Nl

— sampson3121 (@sampson3121) November 4, 2020

Fingers crossed we all know, one way or another, how the 2020 U.S. election pans out, because there are many other important matters — such as climate change and the global pandemic — that could use our focused attention right now.