The imposition of new tariffs on both sides of the border, paired with strained relations between the U.S. and Canada, are causing a slowdown for Calais businesses, some of which have seen their international sales decline by more than half. The situation is a complicated one for many business owners who feel caught in national politics.
      “The majority of our [Canadian] customers have stopped shopping over here,” says Heather Henry Tenan, owner of C&E Feeds Community Market and Package Hub. “Canadian traffic is down by at least 50%,” she says, adding that by package processing sales it’s closer to 80%.
      The package processing numbers are stark. C&E has a client list of over 9,000 customers across the Maritimes who cross the border to pick up packages to avoid higher duties and shipping fees. Between January and March in 2024, 5,996 packages were handled. This year, during the same timeframe, 896 packages were handled.
      “COVID was much worse, but the huge difference is, under the Biden administration, there was money to help small businesses,” Tenan says, explaining that there were grants, payroll programs, and small business loans that could be applied for to manage the financial stress. As President Trump has eliminated those relief programs, businesses will either “sink or swim” as a result.
      At Calais IGA, co-owner Bob Craft is tracking a 20% decrease in overall sales since the tariff war began in February with President Trump’s declaration of a 25% tariff on Canadian goods and an ensuing response from Prime Minister Trudeau. “We are still getting some Canadian shoppers, but certainly not like we are used to.” During the pandemic, when sales were down 35%, the IGA received federal support during the first round of funding relief. “We definitely needed it during COVID,” Craft says.
      For Tradewinds Shop ‘n Save, it’s not quite clear so far what the impact of the tariffs is, says manager Carla McLellan. “I’m sure it will be different than COVID when we had no Canadian customers,” she says. “We will have to wait and see what a difference it makes, if any.”
      Overall border crossings are down 20% in Calais, with U.S. Customs and Border Protection tracking 44,008 people in personal vehicles in February of this year, compared with 55,445 last year. That figure is expected to drop even further, with Canada issuing a travel warning on April 4 that Canadians crossing into the U.S. should expect their electronic devices searched.
      Some businesses were not willing to comment about the tariffs based on multiple instances of negative feedback on social media and in person after making appeals to Canadian customers, illustrating the high emotions involved. When the Sunrise County Farmers Market announced on Facebook it would not be opening this year as a result of increased costs – in part from tariffs – it had to remove the original post after comments became incendiary.
      “We are not here to argue ideology,” the market later posted. “The decision to pause the market this year was made with great difficulty, out of respect for the economic pressures our vendors are facing. It had nothing to do with politics and everything to do with protecting the sustainability of small farms.”
      It’s a situation that has led some to refrain from commenting for fear of upsetting any potential customers. “There are four sides involved – two sides on each border – and I want them all to eat pizza,” says Tim Crowe, owner of Jo’s Diner on Main Street, just above the Ferry Point bridge. “People are navigating this successfully, but it’s difficult.”
      Beyond the financial burden, the relationship between the two countries has been stressed by President Trump’s rhetoric about Canada becoming the 51st state, said Eric Miller, President of the Rideau Potomac Strategy Group in Washington, D.C., during a webinar on tariffs on April 3. The tariffs and rhetoric have prompted an “elbows up” response from Canada, including booing the American anthem during hockey games – though that mentality isn’t universal. “Me, personally, I would never boo anyone's anthem,” said St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern in a previous interview with The Quoddy Tides, noting that he wants the national leaders involved to “sit down and work this out.”
      The effects of the tariffs aren’t limited to cross-border travel, either, with Americans appearing to be hesitant to travel or schedule plans for this summer due to ongoing financial uncertainty. At Eastland Motel in Lubec, March reservations were down 50% and summer reservations are down 60%, says owner Tenan, despite Canadian customers being about 10% of their business. While Tenan knows she and husband Glen can mostly handle the operation, she says, “We are worried about the number of employees we will be able to hire there this summer.”
      Recognizing that “most people don’t want to talk about it,” Tenan says she “sure as [heck] wants people to know what is happening” to Maine’s border communities. “They can keep their head in the sand as long as they want, but eventually they will suffocate. And we will too without everyone’s support.”