As Canada imposes retaliatory tariffs on the United States, Americans near the border say the trade war is deepening divisions between the two countries and hope the split does not turn into a more lasting breakup.
Costs for American businesses are up. Border crossings are down as Canadians choose to spend their money at home. And many Canadians are downright outraged over the actions of President Trump.
The trade war has threatened not only business but, sometimes, the very personal bonds that define America’s northern border.
“It’s affected relationships. I can definitely tell you that,” said Gurdeep Bains, who has a flower and gift shop as well as rental properties with his wife, Sarbie, a city councilwoman in Blaine, Wash., which sits on the border. “People got their tires slashed.”
The city has accepted that it cannot rely on Canadians, and has focused on finding ways to attract more domestic tourists from places like Seattle. Emotions calmed a bit over the past year, Mr. Bains said, only to be replaced by a sense that the relationship between the neighboring countries might not ever fully rebound. Even his own relatives, who live in Canada, have chosen to visit less frequently.
“They’re upset,” he said. “It’ll never go back.”
The retaliatory tariffs went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, increasing the rate that Canadian businesses pay on about 650 imported products, from sunscreen to steel to stoves, by between 15 percent and 50 percent. Canada announced the move after trade talks imploded and the United States imposed another 50 percent in tariffs.
Prime Minister Mark Carney of Canada said last month that treating Canada like a subsidiary of the United States was “not something we’re going to accept.”
Two days later, Mr. Trump signed an executive order to change the name of Lake Ontario to “Lake America.” Since talks broke down, Mr. Trump has said that Canada has been “Ripping Off” the United States and that Canadian businesses would move across the border to avoid paying tariffs.
The Trump administration’s trade disputes with Canada have been unpopular among Americans. An Ipsos poll taken in late August showed that two in three Americans, including nearly half of Republicans, said the United States should be more open to compromise with Canada. When asked who was to blame, 46 percent said the United States, compared with just 12 percent who pointed to Canada. Still, only half of Americans were familiar with the trade war, according to the poll.
Small business owners and local officials in three border states said in interviews on Monday that they were starting to see a slight improvement in Canadian business — until this most recent breakdown in relations.
“We thought it was coming back,” said Dave Lane, who runs Snow Farm Vineyard and Distillery in South Hero, Vt. “The new rounds of tariffs on both sides are just affecting the relationship.”
Mr. Lane said American tariffs had already hurt his finances, increasing the cost of each empty bottle he imports from Canada by about $7 to $8. Now, with alcohol sales down and Canadians choosing to stay away, his business has cut costs on advertising rather than increase the prices of the wine, brandy, gin and other spirits it makes.
But he’s optimistic that the relationship with Canada will bounce back, as will the business. The culture on the border is too intertwined, he said. And Vermonters have gone out of their way to show they understand — and perhaps even share — Canadians’ anger at the Trump administration.
Last year, the city of Burlington, Vt., briefly renamed the pedestrian-only street in the heart of its downtown “Rue Canada” in solidarity with its northern neighbors. And Mr. Lane said Canadian flags and the Fleurdelisé, the flag of Quebec, are frequently seen in many American homes and businesses.
“We are just in a very odd time,” Mr. Lane said. “We’ll get through it.”
Things feel a bit different in North Dakota, a Republican-led state that exports about 80 percent of the goods it produces to Canada.
In Grand Forks, the state’s third-largest city, about 80 miles south of the Canadian border, Mayor Brandon Bochenski said that the agricultural sector had felt the biggest pinch and that local farmers, though resilient, were concerned about the new retaliatory tariffs. But the area voted for Mr. Trump in 2024, and Mr. Bochenski said local residents were still generally supportive of the president.
Barry Wilfahrt, president of the local chamber of commerce, said the Trump administration “has its strategy to rebalance trade agreements where the U.S. has a significant trade deficit.”
“Presidents and prime ministers come and go, but Canada will always be our neighbor,” he said. “And in Grand Forks we will continue to roll out the red carpet when our neighbors come to visit.”
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