Cross-border order pickups in tight-knit Montana-Alberta communities hit hard by tariff talks

Andrew Jeffrey · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 07, 2025 7:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

In a tightly-knit assemblage on the Alberta-Montana border, the anxiousness caused by tariff threats betwixt Canada and the U.S. is disrupting a longtime cross-border practice.

It's communal for Canadians surviving adjacent the borderline successful Alberta to person online and mail-order purchases delivered to bluish Montana businesses, similar At the Border Storage successful Sweetgrass, Montana, that are acceptable up to person and clasp packages.

Customers tin debar planetary shipping rates oregon prime up items that are impractical to present to Canada by driving down into Montana, picking up their bid from the installation it was delivered to, and declaring it astatine the borderline erstwhile they re-enter Canada.

But arsenic tariff threats person continued, At the Border Storage proprietor Amy Lindskog estimates she's seen a 30 to 35 per cent downturn successful her business.

"It's the uncertainty and the unknowing of what there's going to beryllium tariffs on, what it's going to outgo them. And with the speech complaint the mode it is, [there are] a batch of uncertainties," Lindskog said, adding that her customers are almost each Canadian.

Before U.S. President Donald Trump introduced caller tariffs on goods from galore countries, Lindskog said the pickup process was elemental for customers — typically they lone had to wage GST when declaring their items astatine the Canadian borderline upon re-entry.

Now customers need to cognize wherever their purchases were manufactured and what tariff outgo volition beryllium applied arsenic well.

Sweetgrass, a municipality of little than 70 residents, has 2 facilities acceptable up to person packages for Canadians: At the Border Storage and the Montana Shipping Outlet.

Both businesses cater to Canadians due to the fact that of Sweetgrass's location, close on the borderline crossed from Coutts, an Alberta colony it's intimately tied to, with which it shares the busiest crossing connected the Alberta-Montana border.

But U.S. Customs and Border Protection statistic amusement less travellers are entering the U.S. astatine the Coutts-Sweetgrass crossing. The fig of passengers entering the U.S. astatine this halt was down astir 15 per cent this February, compared to February 2024.

Canadians are besides astatine hazard of longer delays erstwhile crossing the borderline into the U.S. 

Last week, the national authorities updated its online question proposal for Canadians, informing them borderline patrol officers person "significant" discretion successful deciding who enters the U.S. and the powerfulness to hunt phones and laptops.

'Buy Canadian' question brings customers to Lethbridge shops

The tendency to bargain Canadian goods, anxiousness and disorder astir tariffs, and an speech complaint that hits Canadian wallets hard person each combined to boost concern for section Lethbridge shops, said Economic Development Lethbridge CEO Trevor Lewington.

"Most of the retailers successful downtown, successful particular, person said that there's been an involvement successful the smaller boutique stores arsenic radical look for much section alternatives," Lewington said, pointing retired that buying from section stores has a large interaction connected the community's system arsenic a whole.

"Local businesses wage section people, they wage section taxes, and section concern owners thin to reinvest backmost into their ain communities," Lewington said. "So it has a overmuch bigger interaction than, say, buying from a nationalist concatenation oregon ordering disconnected a website."

Scott Warris, co-owner of Analog Books successful Lethbridge, makes monthly trips to Montana, utilizing some Sweetgrass shipping outlets to stock up connected books that are impractical to nonstop straight to his shop. He says galore stores successful Lethbridge bash the aforesaid to capable their shelves.

But portion tariff talks and heightened borderline scrutiny person led to him taking less trips into Montana, the "Buy Canadian" question is bringing much readers done his doors.

Analog's concern has markedly accrued since January, to the constituent the store is looking to prosecute much help, Warris said.

"It is making a difference, and it is noticeable," Warris said, adding that the store has recorded 25 per cent much transactions successful the past 90 days compared to the aforesaid play a twelvemonth earlier.

"A batch of radical person been successful the store for the archetypal clip too. They're like, 'Oh we didn't adjacent recognize you guys were here.' Which benignant of tells maine they've astir apt been buying their books from Amazon oregon online, done eBay, picking them up astatine the border."