The view from Old Orchard Beach: many French Canadians say ‘non merci!'
On this longest day of the year, vacancy and Bienvenue signs were posted around town. The Canadian flag flew proudly just below Old Glory on Old Orchard Street. But there were also T-shirts for sale depicting Trump as a tattooed, muscle-bound 'Make America Great' hero in the front window of a nearby souvenir shop.
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The sun peeked at the horizon at 5 a.m. near The Pier at Old Orchard Beach, on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.
Many hotels, motels, and campgrounds cater to French Canadians. They have bilingual staff and have built up decades-long relationships with their guests. Several restaurants here serve poutine, the popular Quebec dish of French fries topped with cheese curds and gravy. With nearly 40 percent of summer visitors coming from Canada, many merchants worry this could be a long, frustrating summer.
A local chamber of commerce spokesperson said reservations are down 10 percent to 20 percent this season.
In addition to the political turmoil
, officials blame the rainy weather and unfavorable exchange rates. The number of Canadian travelers to Maine has declined 25 percent this year compared to last year, according to Customs Border Protection. Some establishments are dropping their three-day minimum stay policy and are offering discounts.
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Tourists strolled down Old Orchard Street heading for the beach.
Is this throwback honky-tonk town set on a magnificent 7-mile beach in dire straits? Hopefully not. On Friday, there were several cars with Quebec plates driving around town and a few no vacancy signs.
Most locals are sick of Trump talk. It's a short season and politics here are as welcome as seeing a fin slicing through the shallow water.
But Rico Pettinicco, a longtime parking lot attendant, predicts the French Canadians will return. They love the beach too much. The draw of the ocean is more powerful than any one man.
Tourists peered at a Trump T-shirt in the front window of a shop on Old Orchard Street in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
'I had one Canadian guy come, and say, 'I'm not mad at you, we're mad at Trump. Besides, we like it here,' Pettinicco said. 'He said, 'How would you like Maine to become a province of Canada?' Then I thought about the free benefits and everything. Maybe it wouldn't be bad.'
Adam Donovan of Friendship Oceanfront Suites says things are not as dire as advertised.
'The people that have been returning for a decade plus have been coming back, but not the newer families,' Donovan said. Consequently, there are bargains for others.
Rachael O'Shaughnessy, an award-winning local artist, cleaned the beach under the pier at sunrise.
Jolene Twombly-Wiser, a teacher from Denmark, Maine, got upgraded to an oceanfront balcony suite because of the lack of Canadian visitors. She says she misses hearing French amid the rolling waves.
'I love Canadians. They're some of the nicest people in the world,' Twombly-Wiser said.
She is not a Trump fan.
'It's his way, right? To try to say shocking things as if they're normal and get everyone riled up,' she said. 'But there's a lot of people here that depend on that income. It's obviously already having an impact here. I'd love to see all the Canadians on the beach.'
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The sun rose on the longest day of the year, Friday, June 20th, at 5AM.
Rachael O'Shaughnessy is an award-winning local artist who helps to clean the beach starting before sunrise as
inspiration for her art. She has noticed a difference this year — and not just fewer people.
'So far I see less garbage,' she said.
She doesn't want to discuss politics. 'It's really a brutally difficult time,' she says. She just wants to enjoy the solstice sunrise.
'I think every single sunrise has a unique beauty. And every single one is worthy of my getting up.'
The Pier at Old Orchard Beach has seagulls on patrol for French fries but plenty of empty tables.
Fred Kennedy, the bilingual owner of the Alouette Beach Resort, did a CNN interview months ago after Trump insulted Canada.
'I thought I was pretty even tempered,' he said.
But he received hate email from both Americans who thought he wasn't being loyal and Canadians who were upset at his tone.
'Canadians thought I was being nonchalant with their pride of being Canadian,' Kennedy said. 'Some of them were angry that I was saying everything is just fine.'
Sunset illuminates a bar patron at The Pier at Old Orchard Beach.
He learned that social media can be mean-spirited. 'People that never stayed with us tried to hurt my business by going on and writing negative reviews.'
Since then, US-Canada relations seem to be improving, Kennedy said, with Trump being respectful to Canada's new prime minister, Mark Carney.
Kennedy says his business is down only 3 percent this year.
On the beach, a woman in a USA sweatshirt celebrates the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.
'This weekend is sold out,' he said, noting that it's a long holiday weekend to celebrate the French Canadian patron, Saint Jean Baptiste, and some sports teams are in town.
A Montreal tourist who declined to give his name says this isn't about politics. It's about being with his family at a place that makes him feel welcome.
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'No, I'm not going on about Trump,' he said. 'I've come here 20 years now. And I'm coming for the beach.'
The sky is not falling, Kennedy insists. It's a perfect beach day and everybody is happy.
'We all made it through COVID, right?'
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