Point Roberts, Washington — There may be no town in the U.S. as Canadian as Point Roberts, Washington.
“I would say 90% of our business is driven by the Canadians,” said Tamara Hansen, who runs the Saltwater Café.
On this particular April day, the Saltwater was completely empty at the height of lunch hour.
“This is not normal, to not have anybody sitting in the restaurant,” Hansen said.
Nothing is normal these days in Point Roberts, which is located on the southernmost tip of the Tsawwassen peninsula, about 25 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. In one of the only American towns you have to go through Canada to reach, residents and business owners are caught in the middle of political and economic battles that have left them feeling completely cut off.
“I can’t even remember a time when the shelves ever looked like this, ever, not even during COVID,” said Beth Calder of the empty …