As President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney talked at the G7 summit in Alberta on Monday, New England governors gathered with Canadian premiers in Boston to discuss cooperation amid Trump’s tariffs and talk of making Canada the 51st state.
Governor Maura Healey hosted several New England governors and emissaries, along with New York Governor Kathy Hochul, at the State House, along with several Canadian premiers. After a closed-door session, they emerged for a roundtable discussion moderated by former Bank of America vice chair Anne Finucane.
Canada’s premiers view New England and New York as important trading partners that now face severe barriers imposed by Trump’s recent tariffs. They said they want the US and Canada to work together to fight what they view as their shared economic enemy, China.
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But at least two Canadian premiers, Ontario’s Doug Ford and New Brunswick’s Susan Holt, indicated they won’t be encouraging their constituents to vacation in the US, at least not until Carney and Trump can reach some sort of deal. Ford also cited Toronto’s building boom, and said that normally the builders there would be using US-made steel but now through legislation, they’re encouraged to use Canadian-made steel instead.
“Leaders around the world that I’ve talked to are dumbfounded,” Ford said. “They [say] ‘I can’t believe the president is going after your country’ and we’re in disbelief, too.”
And Holt said she hopes to lure some talented scientists away from the US amid the Trump administration’s cutbacks in federal research funding. “I’m not going to pretend that folks in Canada don’t see this as an opportunity for us to attract some of the brightest and best from here who are now seeing funding cuts and challenges,” Holt said. “Maybe we’ll borrow your talent for a little while.”
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Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said he viewed the governors in the room as allies and friends.
“Everyone around this table is trying to deal with a situation that was thrust upon us,” Houston said. “Canadians, when [we] hear the talk of the 51st state stuff, we’re pretty ticked off.”
The New England governors rattled off some of the downside effects of these trade tensions, from canceled B&B reservations to rising costs for medical device materials and aluminum for craft brewers.
Maine’s Janet Mills said she’s already seeing a big drop-off in tourism from Canadian visitors, saying “hurt pride” is a bigger factor than the tariffs.
The New England governors and Eastern Canadian premiers typically meet every year to discuss shared issues; this time, Hochul and Ford were included in those conversations as well.
When asked by a reporter if any significant resolutions or commitments had emerged from the discussions on Monday, Healey responded by saying, “We’re going to commit work on ways to ensure a better flow of trade,” and “we are committed to marketing the Northeast as a great destination for Canadians to come and visit.”
Healey added: “I expect good things to come from this, concrete things, but also hopefully we’re sending a message today to our friends in Canada and to others across the United States that we are open for business [and] we want to continue with a relationship that has stood us well for decades.”
Jon Chesto can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @jonchesto.