For most Canadians, avoiding the United States amid a bitter trade war might mean skipping a cross-border shopping trip or choosing a vacation closer to home.
uncertain
avoiding → avoid → home
But for the roughly 900 people who live on Campobello Island, N.B., it’s not that simple.
asserted
it → live → Island
The Canadian island sits just off Lubec, Maine, and is cut off by road from the rest of Canada.
asserted
island → sit → Canada
Its only bridge leads to the United States, making crossing the border a part of everyday life.
asserted
crossing → lead → life
There’s no gas station on Campobello and grocery options are limited, sending residents across the border for basic necessities.
asserted
options → ’ → necessities
“It’s kind of unique,” said American fisherman Dana Barker, who has lived on Campobello Island with his Canadian wife for 50 years.
asserted
who → ’ → years
For one student who lives on the island but attends high school in the U.S., crossing an international border is simply part of the morning routine.
asserted
crossing → live → routine
“Yeah, I cross the border almost every morning,” she told Global News.
asserted
she → cross → News
“And there aren’t a lot of grocery store options, so we have to do most of our shopping over (in Maine).”
asserted
we → be → Maine
That closeness between the two countries is woven into the island’s history.
asserted
closeness → weave → history
British loyalists fled to Campobello after the American Revolution.
asserted
loyalists → flee → Revolution
The United States later relinquished its claim to the island following the War of 1812 in exchange for other islands.
uncertain
States → relinquish → islands
Beginning in the 1880s, Franklin D. Roosevelt’s family spent summers at a home on Campobello, a tradition that continued during his presidency.
asserted
that → begin → presidency
Today, the historic site is jointly owned and operated by Canada and the United States, a symbol of a friendship that has connected the two countries for generations.
“The park’s primary purpose and mission is the friendship, unity, and mutual respect that both nations have for each other,” said John Southern of Roosevelt Campobello International Park.
asserted
Southern → own → Park
But that relationship has become increasingly complicated as tensions between Canada and the United States spill across the border.
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tensions → become → border
Canadian tourism to Maine was cut in half last year following U.S. President Donald Trump’s taunts and tariffs.
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tourism → cut → taunts
- Saskatoon committee to weigh expropriating land for BRT stations
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- B.C. First Nations file legal challenges to feds’ Pacific Link pipeline decision
-
asserted
Nations → weigh → decision
‘Cart before the horse’: Site prep work approved before development plans in HRM
On Campobello, the impact has been even harder to escape.
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impact → approve → Campobello
Residents were forced to pay a 25 per cent tariff on U.S. goods brought across the border until Ottawa announced a special exemption for the island.
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Ottawa → force → island
Last month, a truckload of supplies was turned back by U.S. border officials.
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truckload → turn → officials
A Campobello brewery has also shut down because of the tariffs.
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brewery → shut → tariffs
“So decisions that are made in capitals far away have an impact immediately on Campobello,” New Brunswick MP John Williamson said.
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Williamson → make → Campobello
On the other side of the bridge, some Americans say the political tensions risk damaging a relationship that has long defined their neighbouring communities.
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that → say → communities
“There’s no reason to be causing bad blood among good neighbours,” Lubec resident Nelson Meaker said.
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Meaker → ’ → neighbours
“It’s just crazy.”
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Lubec, the easternmost municipality on the U.S. mainland, usually votes Republican.
asserted
Lubec → vote → Republican
But pollsters are predicting a closer race in the midterm elections, with voters concerned about the cost of living and the trade war with Canada.
asserted
voters → predict → Canada
For Campobello residents, whatever happens in Washington or Ottawa has a way of quickly reaching their small island.
asserted
happens → happen → island
But Barker believes the ties connecting the two sides of the border are stronger than the political dispute dividing them.
asserted
ties → believe → them
“Oh yeah, we’re gonna work it out,” he said.
asserted
he → go → it
“We’re too close.”
asserted
We → ’re → ?
The Aporia
