Northeast governors are meeting in Boston and have invited five eastern Canadian premiers to join them. Today the group discussed wide-ranging issues such as tourism, energy and economic relations. However, one topic became a priority: President Donald Trump’s tariffs and how they’re affecting people on both sides of the border.
The eastern premiers from Atlantic Canada and Ontario are hoping to forge closer alliances with U.S. governors against the Trump tariffs. Their meeting came even as Trump met with other G7 leaders in Banff, Alberta and where he said early Monday that a trade deal with Canada could come soon.
Going into the meeting Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he would push for the American Canadian economic fortress, or AMCAN
“Number one topic’s going to be tariffs and I’ve always said we’re stronger together and just saying we’re the two greatest countries in the world. We’ll be the strongest, wealthiest, most prosperous two countries. And I brought a plan of the AMCAN fortress that I’ll be distributing,” Ford said.
For northeast states, Canada is perhaps their largest single trading partner, and the tariffs are beginning to bite deeper. Janet Mills is the Governor of Maine.
“We have 176 craft breweries in Maine. Steel and aluminum tariffs alone have had a great impact on those businesses. Those are small Maine businesses. They’re not international or national in scope. They support our Maine economy. The tariffs are already affecting those businesses here in Maine and we want it to stop,” Mills said.
Mills also said Canadian tourists are also staying away and that’s hurting the local economy, affecting long-standing cross-border relations.
Much of that was echoed by New York Governor Kathy Hochul, who said the meeting is part of an important conversation.
“We’re reminding ourselves of the shared interest, the common bond that exists between all of us. It’s not just the tourism or the industries. It’s our neighbors and relationships that have now been damaged because of the rhetoric out of Washington,” Hochul said. How do you spell tariffs? It is nothing more than a T-A-X, and Americans need to know that. That this is a tax on everything they buy, and it hurts our competitiveness, and we stand to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs.”
Hochul said she wants Canadian tourists to come back, but she’s also worried about families in New York State on the additional costs they’re going to face on everything, including energy.
“Energy is now becoming a huge cost driver for our homes,” Hochul said. We have great relationships, next year we’ll power over one million homes with hydroelectric power from Quebec. That starts because you have a friendship, a relationship of trust.”
The Premier of New Brunswick, Susan Holt, says almost all of the governors and her fellow premiers are on the same page when it comes to tariffs.
“At the end of the day a tariff is a tax,” Holt said. “It’s a tax on both Americans and Canadians right now. We heard that loud and clear from the governors here in the New England states that are seeing the cost of this to particularly tourism, they talked about today, the hit that US tourism is taking.”
Holt says in the long run, a reduction in the tariffs might be palatable, but still believes there’s no reason for tariffs. While the governors and premiers share their woes over the economic and geopolitical situation, in Alberta Trump has signaled that a trade deal with Prime Minister Mark Carney is achievable, adding that he’s sure they can work something out. How soon though, will be the key.
