TARIFFS, TOURISM, and a talent drain.
Five northeast US governors and six Canadian premiers and ministers on Monday met at the Massachusetts State House to grapple with taxes on imports, also known as tariffs, as well as how some workers are fleeing the US as their federal research funding is cut or withdrawn, and the drop in visitors coming over the border amid President Trump pushing for Canada to become the 51st US state.
Gov. Maura Healey hosted her counterparts inside the library of the Massachusetts State House, saying the gathering grew out of a meeting she had with Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who traces her ancestry back to Nova Scotia, after Trump announced a new tariff strategy in April, one he has wavered on in the weeks that followed. Canada counts the US as its largest trading partner, and now faces American tariffs on its goods that are expected to be passed onto US consumers.
Monday’s convening of governors and premiers was an attempt at a show of unity, to offer a message that the Canadian provinces and northeast US states were “open for business” with each other and see China as the common foe, despite whatever the Trump administration says in Washington.
Tariffs are already affecting Maine’s craft brewing industry, Mills said by way of example, noting that aluminum and packaging materials used by the industry come from Canada.
But they also acknowledged as the leaders of states and provinces, they have more limited powers than federal officials. The meeting came as leaders from the G7 countries – the US, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom – convened in Alberta. Healey and her counterparts, which also included the governors of New York and Vermont, expressed hope some comity and trade deals could emerge from that G7 gathering.
But there was still daylight between the two camps. After Healey noted that tourism numbers in the northeastern states are down anywhere between 20 to 60 percent, a reporter asked the Canadian officials at the meeting whether they would encourage their residents to come to America and spend money this summer, or ask people to send a message to Trump by keeping their tourism dollars out of the US economy.
The Canadian officials demurred. Ontario Premier Doug Ford pitched his province, saying it’s twice the size of Texas. But he added, “We need to get through this, and we’re stronger together. And keep an eye on China. They’re laughing. They’re sitting back laughing.”
New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt said Americans have to relay to Trump that the tariffs and threats of annexation are hurting the US economy. “I can’t tell Canadians to come visit the US right now,” she said. “I’m going to tell them to go and see my neighbors in Nova Scotia, I’m going to tell them to spend some time at home because the relationship has been challenged by leadership. We need to get back to normal. That’s what we all want.”
Holt also indicated that Canada sees the situation as an opportunity to attract the “brightest and best” research and development workers as they face federal funding cuts in the US. “Maybe we’ll borrow some of the folks, and then we’ll give them back and build the kind of connected partnerships between our research organizations that will stand through the test of time,” she said.
Rhode Island Gov. Daniel McKee said a larger group of governors and premiers should be convened. “This dialogue today has been very eye-opening to me. What’s been said from our colleagues here in Canada, we need to listen to,” he said. He then referred to Trump without saying his name, adding, “This rhetoric that is going on, creating division, needs to stop. A meeting like this helps get that message going but it needs to continue to happen.”
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