On Maine's doorstep, residents of N.B.'s Campobello Island feel abandoned in time of trade crisis

Allyson McCormack · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 31, 2025 5:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 12 hours ago

Valerie Mabey has lived connected New Brunswick's Campobello Island astir of her life, but these days, it isn't easy. 

Islanders person go unwitting victims of U.S. President Donald Trump's effort to reshape the planetary trading system.

Cross-border relationships person frayed, and Canadians connected this 14-kilometre-long outpost successful the Bay of Fundy feel isolated and vulnerable.

"We don't person a state presumption here. We don't person a slope here," Mabey said. "We're beauteous isolated, and it's hard to effort to thrust an hr to get to your ain country."

Because of geography, galore of Campobello's 1,000 oregon truthful residents trust heavy connected crossing the span into the nearest municipality — Lubec, Maine — for gas, groceries and necessities. 

But residents are present being charged 25 per cent successful Canadian tariffs connected the U.S. goods they bring backmost implicit the border. And they're bracing for the interaction of the U.S. tariffs slated to instrumentality April 2.

"I deliberation we're benignant of near retired to fend for ourselves," Mabey said. "We are portion of Canada, but cipher seems to admit that.

"I don't deliberation they understand. You person to unrecorded present to recognize it." 

WATCH | Mayor asks Ottawa to exempt residents from retaliatory tariffs: 

Island surviving means commuting to Maine for regular essentials and driving an hr done the authorities to transverse into Canada astatine St. Stephen to get wellness attraction oregon different authorities services.

In the summertime months, a ferry runs from Campobello Island to Deer Island and past to the mainland. 

'We're retaliating with tariffs connected our ain people'

Campobello Mayor Harvey Matthews has asked Ottawa for an exemption from the tariffs for residents. So far, helium hasn't had immoderate response.

"It's a small disheartening that your ain state would bash that to you," helium said.

"Something needs to alteration due to the fact that we're retaliating with tariffs connected our ain people. It conscionable doesn't marque sense. Not 1 bit. Not to me."

Premier Susan Holt said her authorities has besides tried to get "those exemptions carved out" for residents of Campobello but without success.

"We privation to spot an exemption enactment successful place," Holt said. "So we haven't had occurrence with the national authorities yet to get that … enacted, but we haven't stopped pushing them to bash it."

The federal Finance Department, which is liable for Canadian tariffs, did not hold to a CBC petition for an interview.

Campobello store takes requests

In the meantime, Praveen Chindaluri is seeing a batch of caller faces wherever helium works at Campobello Value Foods.

He said immoderate radical are "not consenting to transverse the borderline due to the fact that of these tensions going on," with borderline agents sometimes "checking each and each happening successful the car" to enforce tariffs connected larger buying runs. 

The store is doing what it can to capable the gap, bringing successful nutrient and different products to assistance residents debar immoderate of their buying trips to Maine, Chindaluri said.

"People are coming here, and they're telling [us] caller products, immoderate they want."

Customer Wendy Smart said she has chopped backmost her crossings to conscionable "two oregon 3 times" this month. The full concern has her successful a authorities of changeless worry. 

"You're conscionable benignant of connected the borderline worrying astir this, worrying astir that, and anticipation and commune for the best."

She's crossing her fingers that it doesn't get worse, but with much tariffs looming, "it's not going to beryllium good," she said. "It's however we live. These tariffs are going to impact truthful galore people, truthful galore antithetic things."

Passports needed — no exceptions

Meanwhile, the longtime leniency granted to land residents crossing from Campobello to Lubec has ended nether the instrumentality of Trump. 

Since 2009, Canadians person been required to contiguous a passport, Nexus paper oregon FAST (Free and Secure Trade) paper portion crossing the U.S. borderline by onshore oregon water. For aerial travel, that request was brought successful during January 2007.

But according to Campobello residents, they were often waved done with a driver's licence and a commencement certificate.

Matthews said the caller alteration caught galore radical disconnected defender due to the fact that "a batch of people's passports present had expired."

That prompted the colony to put a passport lawsuit earlier this month. A lensman was brought successful from Saint Andrews who took photos of astir 75 residents successful request of a passport, and Service Canada officials followed to  assistance with the paperwork. 

Now Matthews thinks specified events volition beryllium needed up to doubly a twelvemonth if the current governmental clime persists. 

Renewed propulsion for year-round ferry

Ron Beckwith, whose location faces his "neighbours and friends crossed the water" successful the U.S., said the caller friction astatine the borderline is adding substance to the combat for a year-round ferry to mainland Canada.

"We request thing that we tin number on," Beckwith said. "We request a government-sponsored ferry to link america backmost to Canada."

The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure operates respective escaped ferries successful the province, including 1 from mainland Letete to Deer Island. 

But the ferry connecting Deer Island to Campobello Island runs lone from June to September and costs $25 each mode for a operator and vehicle. 

Holt acknowledged "there's a situation determination that needs to beryllium addressed," but she didn't marque immoderate commitments. 

Beckwith said residents "have a close to beryllium connected to their ain state without having to person the support of Donald Trump oregon immoderate different American president to get backmost to their ain country."

"That borderline could virtually close. I spot immoderate chiseled possibility, particularly with this guy."

Strained relationships 

Mabey said the hardest portion astir surviving connected the land close now is the strain it's putting connected their relationships with their U.S. neighbours. 

"As acold arsenic the president goes, I don't attraction for him. As acold arsenic the American people, I emotion them. Half my household is successful the States, my girl and my son-in-law and my 2 grandsons, astir of my cousins. You know, we unrecorded connected a border. Families are split."

She worries that with escalating tensions, things volition proceed to sour. 

"I'm acrophobic that the Americans volition commencement hating the Canadians and that the Canadians volition commencement hating the Americans. And I deliberation that's… a shame. I truly do."

"We've ever been friends, particularly successful borderline towns. I conscionable don't spot his point. I don't understand."