We Asked Bartenders at British Pubs to Explain Brexit

Today, the entire world is watching history unfold as the UK voted to ditch the European Union. It's a lot to take in, and among the millions of questions about the declining pound, the effect on our economies, and who'll be the next British PM, some of us here in Canada are just wondering what the hell this "Brexit" thing is.

In an attempt to understand from a local standpoint, we took to Toronto's British pubs and spoke with the bartenders who will likely be asked about the Brexit situation all weekend by many a drunken few.

While some bartenders refused to be interviewed because of their lack of understanding on the issue, a few were willing to enlighten us on their Brexciting thoughts.

VICE: What the fuck is Brexit?
Ian: Brexit was a vote whether the UK wanted to leave the European Union. The result was, uh, that yeah this morning they wanted to leave.

What happens now?
Apparently it's going to take two years for the leave to happen. That's right, yeah? And I was also reading this morning that because the vote was so close, there's petition signs for a second vote.

Does it affect us here?
I'm not sure, does it? I think it might affect the whole world to be honest.

VICE: Explain to us what Brexit is.
Kevin: Essentially, it was the vote whether Britain would exit the European Union.

What's gonna happen now?
Well, now I can't go anywhere in Europe. Now I need to get visas and stuff to travel within Europe. And that's a big loss. I only found that out two days ago because my mom told me. So it's pretty disappointing.

Also it means that everything's going to change like the economy, I think the people within the UK in general. The whole culture will just change.

People are idiots whoever voted for Britain to exit, that's what I got.

VICE: What's Brexit?
Gary: Brexit was a vote by the British people to remain or stay as part of the EU. It doesn't affect Ireland because Ireland is already independent of the UK.

What is going to happen?
Immediately there probably won't be any change, but I think the free trade agreement might become more strict, especially with the change in currency and the weakening of the pound from this.

What about Canadians; will it affect us here?
I don't see how directly it would affect [Canada]. You're part of the Commonwealth still, you're more closely tied to the UK rather than to the EU.

VICE: What is Brexit, Pat?
Pat: Brexit was a referendum to withdraw Britain and the UK from a trade deal with the European Union. The EU was encroaching upon the ability for British people to create their own laws and preventing them from having trade deals with other parts of the world. So Britain being fairly small, it was causing a lot of strain on the social structure in Britain. So the British people wanted to withdraw so they can have more freedom to trade with the rest of the world.

What happens next?
Well, there will be a two-year period of renegotiation of trade deal between Europe and Britain.

In the short term there will be a little bit of volatility in the markets, [but] that'll pretty much settle down. Britain is a very large and strong economy, so it's still within the best interests of Europe to continue to encourage trade with Britain.

Is there anything to worry about here in Canada?
People are always afraid of change. But it's not the end of the world. It's just basically Britain strengthening its ability to govern itself. So there's no worries for Canada.

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