As President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to annex Canada and place steep tariffs on its exports, many have worried that a mutually beneficial and longstanding cross-border partnership would be threatened.
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney appeared to cement that new reality during a speech Tuesday night after his party’s electoral victory.
“Our old relationship with the United States, a relationship based on steadily increasing integration, is over,” Carney said in his speech this week. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons. We have to look out for ourselves.”
Maine businesses and communities along the border, many already nervous about Trump’s antagonistic attitude toward Canada, are bracing for what comes next.
“If we read directly into (Carney’s) message, that means an economy like Maine will be hurt. Canada’s focus on the U.S. and states like Maine will be less so,” said Stefano Tijerina, a professor …