Cut off from the United States, Point Roberts, Wash., worries it won't survive a trade war
Point Roberts Realtor says community feels like 'children going through a divorce'
Point Roberts, a U.S. community in Washington state, is so Canadian that it advertises its gas prices in litres as well as gallons.
It's also wholly reliant on its Canadian neighbours for essentials, from electricity to water treatment.
That's because the exclave of just over 1,000 people is fully cut off from the United States by land, with visitors having to travel through British Columbia to get there.
The bulk of its economy is centred around catering to Canadian tourists, many of whom have summer homes in the community or who nip across the border for cheaper gas and groceries.
But with Trump's talk of annexing Canada and a groundswell in support for Canadian businesses amid tariff threats, the number of British Columbians making that trip every day has slowed to a trickle.
"If I don't do well in the next few months here, I might have to close my doors," says Tamra Hansen, owner of the Saltwater Cafe, which is decked out with both Canadian and American flags. A cutout of a wooden moose with the word "Canada" sits in a planter at the doorway.
She says the vast majority of her customers are Canadian, and most aren't showing up.
Brian Calder is a former Vancouver city councillor with dual citizenship who grew up visiting his grandparents in Point Roberts. He's also the former president of the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce and now calls the hamlet home, but worries if relations between his two countries continue to deteriorate, the community will disappear.
"Ninety per cent of our economic activity comes from British Columbia," he said. "Take that away ... and we're done."
'We won't exist'
Point Roberts is a product of the 1846 Oregon Treaty between Britain and the United States that established the 49th parallel as the main boundary between the two countries. While an exception was made to bend the border around the southern end of Vancouver Island, the 12.6-square-kilometre tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula fell under American jurisdiction.
It has no mayor or city council, with its political representation overseen in the county seat of Bellingham, about 80 kilometres and two international border crossings away.
To that end, Calder isn't just worried about a drop in visitors. He points out that Metro Vancouver and Delta, just across the B.C. border, supply essentials like electricity and water treatment and if they get hit with tariffs or surcharges, it would simply be unaffordable to carry on.
"We can't do without Canada's support. We won't exist," he said.
Brian Calder has been petitioning political leaders on both sides of the border for exemptions from whatever trade action may come Point Roberts's way.
So far, premier David Eby of British Columbia has been hesitant to talk about slapping surcharges on power exports, pointing out that it would primarily harm Democrat-leaning states already in opposition to Trump's trade war.
But everyday British Columbians have not been hesitant to keep their dollars at home, with Stats Canada noting a marked decrease in the number of border crossings since tariff and annexation rhetoric has ratcheted up.
And Point Roberts is already struggling following border restrictions put into place during the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, summer homes lay empty — though lawns and gardens were maintained by locals as a way of showing their support for B.C. neighbours.
Ali Hayton, who owns International Marketplace, the only grocery store in Point Roberts, says business has never bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, estimating it's at about one-quarter of what it used to be.
"We are still struggling from when they closed the borders, and we never really made up from that, and now there's this really ugly sentiment out there from a lot of Canadians toward Americans," Hayton told The Canadian Press. She called the situation "really sad.… We've always just had a really good reciprocal relationship."
She's been flying a 1.2-metre-long vinyl banner at her store since the pandemic, featuring two people holding hands and U.S. and Canadian flags.
Hayton said residents don't want to be judged by "what our president is doing."
'Like children going through a divorce'
During the pandemic, residents of B.C. and Point Roberts met at the U.S.-Canada border on the Fourth of July.
There, they reached out and held hands while singing O Canada.
But now, some residents say, things feel different.
Calder's niece, Beth Calder, says she's had many "doom and gloom conversations" with Canadians at the business she runs, Point to Point Parcel.
She's been told many of them have no plans to come back over the next four years, comments that are "devastating" for a business that provides Canadians with a U.S. shipping address.
"All of my staff are dual citizens.… I don't like to see animosity between brother and sister, countries, or our neighbours," she told The Canadian Press.
"I talked to someone last week, and they said they could best sum it up by saying Point Roberts is basically the children going through a divorce proceeding, the parents are the two countries, so we're powerless," said Point Roberts Realtor Wayne Lyle in a recent interview with The Canadian Press.
The mood has shifted too, he said, with the sense that a wedge is being driven between neighbours.
"It just doesn't feel as friendly as it was, and so it's a little bit worrisome," he said.
'Children of a common mother'
Not everyone is boycotting Point Roberts: Bob Cook is a regular visitor from Canada, and he's remained steadfast in his visits to show support for his neighbours.
"I'm not going to boycott Point Roberts. These are my friends here," he said, sitting in the Saltwater Cafe.
Residents of Point Roberts are eager to show the love back as well.
Calder recently designed a bumper sticker to show support for Canada. It's printed in red, white and blue but simply reads "Point Roberts, Wa., supports Canada."
Lyle encourages Canadians to remember that not everyone in the United States is supportive of the president's actions.
He said he'd heard of some unpleasant encounters involving residents getting asked why their vehicles have American plates while travelling to B.C.
"It's making them feel uncomfortable, and that person might even originally be a Canadian," said Lyle.
"So, just don't take it out on our little town. We're probably the most Canadian town in the U.S."
Calder said the U.S. tariffs against Canada are "absolutely unnecessary" with no winners, emotionally or economically.
"So, why are you doing it? It's absurd," he said, calling the strategy "absolutely stupid and inhumane."
"And then on top of that, you threatened the integrity of Canada as a nation," he said, referring to Trump. "There's no question that Canada will retaliate.… They've got every right to."
Calder cited an inscription on the Peace Arch monument on the border that refers to Canadians and Americans as "children of a common mother."
"It would be nice to have President Trump and his vice-president come up and read that Peace Arch and get it through their heads that we're allies and best friends for 200 years, and why on Earth does he think he has to put us against each other?"
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With files from CBC's Yvette Brend and The Canadian Press's Nono Shen