Georganne Burke, a supporter of Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump, said she planned to spend Tuesday evening at a friend’s house in Toronto.

Republicans are about three to one in Canada, she said, and they are not as mobilized or as well-funded as Democrats.

So, Burke said, there are no lavish watch parties, although like-minded voters still plan to gather.

“It will be private,” she said. “There will be Trump-supporting Americans and Canadians watching the election results.”

Burke said she has “a pretty good instinct” when things go as planned — and she feels “very optimistic” this time around, after seeing Trump’s defeat coming in 2020.

About 600,000 people eligible to vote in U.S. elections live in Canada, the largest number outside the United States, according to the Federal Voter Assistance Program. That’s about 20 percent of the nearly three million people who can vote worldwide.

The participation rate among them has always been very low. Republican and Democratic activists say only about eight percent of Americans living in Canada participated in previous elections.

When President Joe Biden won that contest, Canada’s Democrats held a virtual watch party due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

After knocking on thousands of doors during this year’s US presidential campaign, David Shelton’s job is done: he’s now looking forward to having a drink or two at a local bar on election night with his fellow Americans.

Although he’s a Democrat, Shelton said his get-out-the-vote efforts aren’t really about getting Kamala Harris elected.

That’s because it was happening in Windsor, Ont., and the surrounding region — where about 25,000 of his countrymen live but too few of them actually exercise their right to vote, Shelton said.

“We engage in these explicitly nonpartisan activities,” the Democrats Abroad member said in an interview. “We want everyone to have access to vote and we think that’s best for everyone.”

Shelton is one of many Americans who have rolled up their sleeves to participate in the democratic process remotely and plan to spend their evenings at gatherings large and small across Canada.

WATCH | How eligible American voters in Canada are mobilized:

How volunteers are urging residents of Windsor, Ontario to vote in the US presidential election

This year, a ticketed party for Harris supporters in Toronto is sold out, said Colleen Mahaffie, who expects to attend alongside about 150 others.

She said she was excited to be able to spend the evening with a larger group this time. The event takes place at the Lithuanian House west end community center, and organizers refer others to the Trinity Common bar and restaurant.

Like Shelton, Mahaffie is a member of the local Democrats Abroad chapter. And like in Windsor, their overarching goal before the election was to encourage Americans living in Canada’s most populous city to vote.

“We have focused much of our efforts on raising awareness that Americans abroad can vote wherever they live around the world, and we have also helped voters ensure they get their ballot on time,” she said.

Campaigning for Harris is a “somewhat secondary” goal, she said — although it’s clear who she’s supporting this election.

The interim president of Democrats Abroad’s Quebec chapter said the group received an “overwhelming” number of RSVPs to its three election eve parties in the Montreal area, including a main event at an Irish pub that’s already at full capacity.

Andrew Holman said the race will be closely watched by many Americans eligible to vote in Canada, and he thinks it could be a tough time.

“There’s a lot at stake, and anyone who claims to be able to predict that doesn’t really know what they’re talking about,” he said.

WATCH | Ottawa prepares for the results of the American elections:

Ottawa prepares for US election results

Elsewhere in downtown Montreal, management at McLean’s Pub will broadcast a mix of U.S. election coverage as well as more usual NHL programming, featuring the Canadiens taking on the Calgary Flames.

The owners have solved the dilemma of what to show by mainly showing hockey at their original location, while the recently opened McLean’s Public House will have politics on the agenda, including some pub trivia about the theme of the American elections.

In Ottawa, Brasserie Métropolitaine — a favorite of the capital’s politicians and lobbyists — is hosting a party alongside POLITICO, Earnscliffe Strategies and the U.S. Embassy.

In Halifax, a local pub run by the Saint Mary’s University student union is hosting a watchdog event in the run-up to the election results.

Although Shelton has tried to take a nonpartisan approach to his door-to-door campaign in Windsor, Tuesday night he plans to don a Harris-Walz T-shirt.

He says he’ll have his eyes glued to the television screens at the Bourbon Tap and Grill on Ottawa Street, alongside 70 or 80 other people.

“We will not have the final results on election night, that is absolutely certain,” he said.

But they will be there, across the river from Detroit, “to celebrate a long and hard-fought campaign.”

WATCH | What are the issues for Canada in the American elections? :

What is at stake in the American elections for Canada?