Maine governor wants N.B. tourists back, but premier says major ‘change' needed
Maine Gov. Janet Mills is travelling in the Maritimes and has convened with New Brunswick Premier Susan Holt just a week after the pair met up in Boston.
For Mills, cross-border co-operation is top of mind as the two sides navigate political tensions between Canada and the United States.
'Canada is Maine's closest and most important trading partner,' Mills told a crowd during an event hosted by the Fredericton Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday.
'We import a great deal from New Brunswick. We have a huge and longstanding trade relationship. I don't see that breaking apart.'
Mills says the words of U.S. President Donald Trump are not those of the American people, and that many of them were 'appalled' when the president called for Canada to become the '51st state.'
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She says she wants to strengthen Maine's relationship with Canada, especially when it comes to tourism and business.
'I can understand the heartfelt angst that Canadians must have felt and must continue to feel,' she said. 'But I will say it is your neighbours across the border, the small businesses whose families come from New Brunswick, whose families come from Quebec, those small businesses are the ones who are being hurt right now.'
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Numbers released by the U.S. federal border crossing on Friday showed 85,000 fewer Canadians entered Maine in May than in the same month a year ago, a drop of about 27 per cent.
However, Holt offered a different perspective, saying that Canada-U.S. relations have helped the province's tourism industry.
1:48
Traffic at New Brunswick-Maine border down 38 per cent
Concerns about crossing the border are causing Canadians to put American vacations on pause.
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'I think New Brunswickers are happy to welcome Americans right now, but things will have to change significantly in the U.S. for us to feel good about choosing to go spend our money there right now,' Holt said.
'I really appreciate how many people from Maine have come to New Brunswick to choose to show their support for Canada at a time when their country has been a menace to ours.'
Morgan Peters, the chamber's CEO, was one of the signatories of an open letter from the chambers in both countries that encouraged both leaders to work towards healthy trade relationships.
Peters says Tuesday's event was a positive step forward.
'Continued collaboration, continued communication is really the only way to navigate forward through this economic certainty,' he said.
While Mills indicated she was optimistic that the rift between the two countries would heal, Holt says it won't happen right away.
'I think our prime minister (Mark Carney) said it well when he said the relationship has fundamentally changed,' Holt said. 'And you don't bounce back from that overnight.'
Mills is on a three-day visit to the Maritimes and will be meeting with Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston as well.
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— With a file from The Canadian Press
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