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<\/p>\nBusiness organizations on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border are scrambling to try to convince their respective governments that their ongoing trade war threatens to bring far more harm than good.<\/p>\n
The two countries have historically shared strong ties that included free trade agreements, freedom of movement between the world\u2019s longest land border and a longstanding military alliance. But that close relationship has been tested since President Donald J. Trump assumed office for his second term and has sought to use aggressive tariffs to maximize U.S. leverage in trade negotiations.<\/p>\n
Under the Trump administration, the U.S. has viewed Canada less as a unique partner and more like an adversary, with Canadians taking strong offense at the president\u2019s rhetoric attacking the country\u2019s sovereignty. The already-fraught relationship further diminished in recent weeks as a prospective trade deal between the two sides instead escalated into a trade war, with the U.S. imposing a 50% tariff on $27.6 billion worth of Canadian goods and Canada vowing to match the tariffs dollar for dollar.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The increase in trade tensions bears a negative outlook for New York, which shares 445 miles of border with Canada and already has seen a diminishing exchange of goods. Exports from New York into the provinces of Ontario and Quebec dropped through the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2025, with trade down 12.6% with Ontario and 31% with Quebec, according to the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics.<\/p>\n
Tariffs criticized <\/p>\n
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Speaking to reporters on Aug. 25 in Albany, Gov. Kathy Hochul sharply criticized the new tariffs and pledged to do \u201ceverything I can in my power\u201d to help state residents impacted by them.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is forced on the American people to deal with this new chapter in insanity of going to war with Canada,\u201d Hochul said. \u201cTo insult their sovereignty in a way that is probably going to take a long time for that wound to heal, we will continue suffering.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bruce Blakeman, Hochul\u2019s Republican opponent in the upcoming gubernatorial election, expressed more recalcitrance to address the issue directly when asked about the tariffs the following day in an interview\u00a0on \u201cCapital Tonight.\u201d\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not going to talk about federal issues,\u201d said Blakeman, who has been endorsed by Trump. \u201cI\u2019m going to talk about the things that I can change.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Economic uncertainty \u2018on steroids\u2019<\/p>\n The economic pain might be felt more acutely in New York\u2019s North Country, which is nestled along much of the state\u2019s land border with Canada.<\/p>\n Businesses and tourist attractions in the region rely on Canadian visitors, and areas like\u00a0Plattsburgh are closer geographically and economically to Montreal than to New York City. Dairy products, including milk, cheese and whey, a key industry in the region, are included in the new tariffs issued by Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n Garry Douglas, CEO of the North Country Chamber of Commerce, said the biggest impact the trade war escalation would have on the region is something that can\u2019t be measured by statistics\u00a0\u2014 that of economic uncertainty, with businesses in the region unlikely to make major decisions in the face of the trade war.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cOur country, particularly border regions, are wracked by postponements of things that would have been happening otherwise: expansions, investments, new equipment, new hirings,\u201d Douglas said. \u201cWhat we\u2019ve done is put uncertainty on steroids.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Douglas said the problem also extends beyond a mere trade dispute between the two governments. Trump\u2019s insulting rhetoric toward the United States\u2019 northern neighbor, such as remarks about wanting to make Canada the 51st state and a recent executive order to rename Lake Ontario as \u201cLake America,\u201d have turned many Canadians off to the idea of visiting the U.S., including New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese are direct attacks in the viewpoint of the Canadian public, on their nationality, their status as a people, so\u2026\u00a0they\u2019re naturally very angry and feeling very betrayed,\u201d Douglas said. \u201cWe have unnecessarily hurt a friend, and we need to heal that relationship.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Hurt on both sides<\/p>\n On the other side of the border, Canadian businesses with strong ties to New York are also expected to feel the reverberations of the trade war. In the province of Quebec, industries including aerospace, automobiles and microprocessors often send products back and forth over the border before their final assembly and commercialization.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s hurting our economies on both sides,\u201d said Veronique Proulx, president and CEO of Quebec\u2019s provincial chamber of commerce. \u201cFor businesses on both sides of the border, this isn\u2019t to their benefit.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Proulx said that exports from Quebec into the U.S. this year are down more than 40% from last year. The drop was led by heavy tariffs on one of Quebec\u2019s main exports, aluminum, an essential raw material used in military production.\u00a0Proulx noted that the drop in importing aluminum from Canada did not result in more domestic production of the material in the U.S.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. isn\u2019t producing more aluminum; it\u2019s getting it from countries that aren\u2019t natural allies,\u201d Proulx said. \u201cIt\u2019s not the policies that were put in place for the tariffs. We understand the will for the U.S. to want to source back more production, but it\u2019s not sourcing back; it\u2019s substitution.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Political implications<\/p>\n The issue of tariffs and the U.S. relationship with Canada is likely to play a role in the upcoming election in New York\u2019s 21st Congressional District, which includes the North Country. Republican candidate Anthony Constantino has supported Trump\u2019s tariffs, while Democrat Blake Gendebien has opposed them and said he\u00a0supports<\/a>\u00a0a more equitable deal between the two countries.\u00a0<\/p>\n In a lengthy social media post on Monday, Constantino defended Trump\u2019s policies with Canada, while also defending the president\u2019s desire to rename Lake Ontario as \u201cmarketing genius.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cPresident Trump showed strength in negotiations with Canada by playing a card he had available to play,\u201d Constantino wrote. \u201cThe smart move, when negotiating with another country, is to unify and show strength.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Gendebien also took to social media to criticize the escalation of tariffs in a series of posts last week.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cUp here in the North Country, Canada isn\u2019t some distant trading partner; they\u2019re our neighbors and customers,\u201d Gendebien wrote. \u201cWashington treats this relationship like a bargaining chip.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Tourism tanks <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/mobile-2.png\")
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