The conjoined Canadian and American flag is a common site on Campobello Island, NB. The island is accessible to Maine via a bridge and many of the residents of the island are American, especially those who own summer homes on the island. Franklin D. Roosevelt famously had a summer home on Campobello.Chris Donovan/The Globe and Mail
The 949 residents of uniquely situated Campobello Island in southwestern New Brunswick have become collateral damage in the trade war initiated by the Trump administration, say local politicians who are calling on the federal government for an exemption on Canadian-imposed retaliatory tariffs.
Because of the island’s unique geography, residents are being forced to pay the federal government’s 25-per-cent tariff when they buy milk, eggs and other necessities in the nearest town of Lubec, Me., Mayor Harvey Matthews said.
To access their own country, residents must drive an hour to an hour-and-a-half through the state of Maine to enter New Brunswick – which is time-consuming and costly for gas.
When residents return from the mainland to the island, connected by a short international bridge, agents from the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) are enforcing the tariff on groceries, Mr. Matthews said.
“People need to realize where we are because things like this can affect us really bad. With an aging population, a lot of people are living on pensions that barely get by,” said Mr. Matthews, a member of the newly formed Border Mayors Alliance made up of Canadian mayors of cities and towns near the U.S. border in response to the trade war.
“It might not be huge money, but every day somebody on our island ends up paying a few dollars on milk or something that they … can’t get on our island.”
He, along with the New Brunswick government and a local MP have called on Ottawa to recognize that Campobello Island residents are being unfairly penalized by the federal government’s retaliatory tariffs because of their distinct location.
Canada’s Department of Finance spokesperson Benoit Mayrand provided a statement saying the government is aware of the issue and looking into it.
Most residents simply drive across the 63-year-old two-lane bridge to Lubec to pick up groceries, buy gas and go to the hardware store – the way of life on the small island with only one meagre food shop and a convenience store.
The seasonal ferry that shuttles residents and tourists between Deer Island and Campobello Island arrives on Deer Island. It is the second of two ferries that residents of Campobello Island must take to avoid crossing into the US when accessing the Canadian mainland. Chris Donovan/The Globe and MailChris Donovan/The Globe and Mail
In summer, there is a private ferry from Campobello Island to Deer Island with another ferry that connects it to mainland New Brunswick.
Most people that live on Campobello, located in the middle of the Bay of Fundy, either fish, like the mayor, or work in tourism. In warmer months, the island attracts thousands of visitors to the former summer retreat of American president Franklin Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor, an international museum and nature park that is jointly funded by the U.S. and Canada.
“It’s the only community in the country that has to drive through a foreign country,” said New Brunswick Southwest MP John Williamson. “I’m the only MP that has to drive through a foreign country to visit part of my constituency.”
The U.S. launched a North American trade war on March 4, taxing all goods from Canada and Mexico at 25 per cent, except Canadian energy at the rate of 10 per cent. The same day, the Canadian government retaliated by imposing 25-per-cent tariffs on $30-billion in goods originating from the U.S. But tariff measures and reprieves have continued to change almost daily since then.
For the people on Campobello Island like Mr. Matthews who can only access specialty milk for his lactose intolerant 14-year-old daughter off island in Maine, the fight means paying tariffs to their own government.
To access the island, residents must drive an hour to an hour-and-a-half through the state of Maine to enter New Brunswick.John Morris/The Globe and Mail
Mr. Williamson said he wrote to Minister of Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Dominic LeBlanc last week asking for an expedited remission process on Canadian tariffs for Campobello Island residents and businesses, either directing the CBSA to not collect the tariff or put in place a rebate process. Already, he said, companies have stopped delivering to the island.
The island’s unique location was also spotlit during the pandemic, when governments instituted travel restrictions and mandatory quarantine periods. In that case, Mr. Williamson said then finance minister Chrystia Freeland immediately announced an exemption for Campobello Island residents travelling back and forth to Maine to buy necessities, after he raised the issue.
“Campobello is in a unique situation,” Mr. Williamson told The Globe. “There is no buying local for so many products. Individuals are really stuck between a rock and a hard place, and this is a small concession, a helping hand to a remote Canadian community that has no choice.”
New Brunswick’s Minister of Local Government Aaron Kennedy said the unique set of circumstances and the “extremely negative impact” on islanders warrants urgent special consideration from the federal government.
“This is not something that can be punted down the road,” Mr. Kennedy said. “Decisions have to be made and we hope the decision will be made in a positive manner for them.”