NEWPORT, VT. — A U.S. senator from Vermont has told a gathering of Canadian and American businesspeople near the border that President Donald Trump’s threats to make Canada a 51st state are “unacceptable.”
Democratic Sen. Peter Welch said he’s also horrified by threatened tariffs on Canadian goods, which he described as destructive for people on both sides of the border.
Welch was joined by Liberal MP Marie-Claude Bibeau for a roundtable bringing together businesses based mainly in Quebec and Vermont to talk about how the tariff battle is affecting them.
Denis Larue, who runs an industrial snowblower manufacturer in Quebec, said tariffs will damage his company because the components in the machines often cross the border several times during production.
On the American side, a Vermont-based brewery owner said the drop in visitors from Canada is hurting revenue at the same time as tariffs are threatening to raise production costs.
Bibeau 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.
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.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18, 2025.
The Canadian Press
