NEWPORT, VT. — President Donald Trump's threats to make Canada a 51st state are "unacceptable," a U.S. Senator from Vermont said Tuesday as businesspeople on both sides of the border gathered to denounce threatened tariffs on Canadian goods.
In a restaurant overlooking frozen Lake Memphremagog -- which spans both countries -- Democratic Sen. Peter Welch added that he's "absolutely horrified" by the tariffs, which he described as destructive for Americans and Canadians alike.
"I am appalled at what our President is saying about Canada in reference to a 51st state," he said. "There's no place for that. We are neighbours who are allies, we're friends and I want to keep it that way."
Welch was joined by Liberal MP Marie-Claude Bibeau for the roundtable in the border town of Newport, Vt., which brought together businesses based mainly in Quebec and Vermont to talk about how the tariff battle is affecting them.
Bibeau said the threat from the United States goes beyond tariffs and now touches on Canada's sovereignty. "It was a joke the first 24 hours, it's not a joke any more," she said of Trump's talk of annexing Canada. "We take it very seriously."
Some two dozen business representatives from sectors including manufacturing, agriculture and tourism stressed the close economic and cultural ties between Vermonters and Quebecers and described the tariffs as a major threat.
On the American side, a representative for a Vermont-based brewery said the drop in visitors from Canada is hurting revenue at the same time as tariffs are threatening to raise the costs on items such as aluminum cans.
Bob Montgomery said Hill Farmstead Brewery is so attached to its northern neighbours that it held a special "Quebec Day" in 2021 to celebrate the border reopening after the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, those customers are turning away, he said.
"Bottom line, these tariffs are making it more expensive to do business, reducing our customer spending and loyalty and putting Vermont small businesses at massive risk," he said.
Another alcohol producer, a distiller, described having all her products pulled from Quebec store shelves after she went to the effort and expense of working with the province's liquor board to create new labels that comply with French-language laws.
Denis Larue, who runs an industrial snowblower manufacturer in Quebec, said tariffs could devastate his business because the components in the machines often cross the border several times during production.
He said his company, J.A. Larue, builds machines with engines sourced from the United States, which themselves sometimes have parts made in Mexico. The final product is then often sold back to the United States, meaning the company could be forced to pay tariffs at several different stages of production.
"Can you imagine how much the price will increase?" he said. "This will kill our industry and will induce a very big pressure on the taxpayer in the U.S., because everything they're going to buy from us, they have to pay more."
Bibeau, who announced last year she will not seek re-election, told the meeting that Canada won't allow itself to be "bullied" by the United States, but she hopes Quebecers and Vermonters can soon return to their traditional relationship as friends, neighbours and allies.
"We still love you," she said. "We want to come, but it hurts really bad."
Some U.S. states are starting to push back against the aggressive trade policies of Trump's administration. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Sunday shared a message on social media promoting the benefits of his state's relationship with Canada.
Trump's trade war escalated last week as the U.S. imposed 25 per cent tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports entering the country, prompting Canada to expand its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods. The president has also threatened a sweeping 25 per cent tariff on other goods from Canada to take effect next month.
Welch said his goal in calling the meeting was to "get the word out about how extraordinarily damaging these tariffs are to our economic relationships and our cultural relationships," noting that Canada is the biggest trading partner for 34 states. "Trump's got to come to his senses," he said.
Bibeau and several of the participants in the meeting said the close links between Quebec and Vermont go beyond business, and many people have close friends and family on both sides.
Mike Desmarais, a dual citizen who owns a Vermont-based equipment supplier called Track Inc., said tariffs could threaten deep supply and trading relationships. Desmarais says it's unnatural for close neighbours to have barriers to trade.
"What's going to happen ... when we can't sell the Canadian and the European products in the United States, we can't sell our American products in Canada?" he said. "It's just not the way it should be."
He urged Canadian lawmakers to keep working with their U.S. counterparts to ensure a solid business environment. "Let's work together, not tear down the bridges," he said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2025.
Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press
