It’s clear that Blaine, Washington, is a border town.

American and Canadian flags are flown here. It’s also the home of the Peace Arch — an over 65-foot-tall white arch that sits on the U.S.-Canada border.

The local high school’s mascot is the “Borderite.” And it’s not unusual to see cars with British Columbia plates driving around.

Blaine is about a two-hour drive north of Seattle. It’s also about 30 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia.

But things are changing in this small town of about 6,000 people. Earlier this year, President Donald Trump made comments about making Canada the “51st state.”

The Trump administration has also imposed tariffs on Canada. In response, Canada hit back with tariffs of its own. There’s also the “Buy Canadian” movement, which encourages Canadians to buy items made in the country.

“Canadians, on the American political spectrum, would be mostly left of center. So your Republican presidents are less popular here than your Democratic presidents,” said Bradley Miller, an associate professor in the University of British Columbia’s history department. “But nothing in my lifetime parallels the vitriol that Canadians now feel about Donald Trump.”

U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported that in June 2025, about a third fewer travelers by car and on foot made trips into Blaine than in June 2024.

Statistics Canada reported similar data. In June 2025, about a third fewer Canadians returned from the U.S. by car than in June 2024.“

The cultural impact on Canadians’ views of spending any money in the United States, that’s been, I think actually that’s been unprecedented,” Miller said.

‘What did Blaine do to you?’

Don Enos, the vice president of the Blaine Chamber of Commerce, said there’s been pushback from Canadians who’ve seen community advertisements promoting Blaine within Canada.

“I always ask them, ‘Well, what did Blaine have to do? What did Blaine do to you?’” he said. “We have done nothing but be … the kicking stone, if you will, in many cases because we’re right on the border.”

The Chamber and local businesses have made a shift. They’re promoting the town and their businesses in other communities in Washington.

“So Seattle, Everett, Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Anacortes — all these other communities around us — they can be tourists too for the day or the week or the weekend, just as much as our Canadian neighbors,” Enos said.

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Fueling up

In the middle of downtown Blaine is Hill’s Chevron, a gas station and gift shop. Inside, there are all the typical finds: soda, candy and chips.

A wall-mounted, talking moose head guards the shop’s beer cave.

“Welcome to Hill’s Chevron!” it bellows to people perusing the store.

Hill’s also has lots of Blaine trinkets and souvenirs available. Like kitchen towels and sweatshirts emblazoned with Blaine’s ZIP code, magnets of the Peace Arch and oven mitts with a map of the area printed on them.

“It’s always been a big joke that you can come here and get a case of beer and a wedding gift all in the same place, you know? And to fill up your tank of gas,” said Amber Ingersoll, the purchaser for Hill’s Chevron.

Mike Hill has owned this place for more than 30 years, and he said his gas sales are down by about 60%, compared to last year.

Hill thinks the drop is due, in part, to Canadians paying fewer taxes on their fuel than they used to. It used to be a better deal to buy gas in the States.

So for Hill’s, it was big business. For instance, British Columbia’s consumer carbon tax was repealed in April. Getting rid of that tax takes about 17 cents per liter off of fuel costs.

Meanwhile, gas prices in Washington are going up. As of July 1, the state’s gas tax increased by six cents per gallon.

But other than the drop in fuel sales, he said the store is doing great. Even if there have been fewer tourists.

“I mean, we love the Canadians. We’ve never had an issue, and we got a president that’s really stirring up the world, which I honestly believe it’s all gonna turn out for the best,” Hill said. “But there’s gonna be turmoil for a while, and it’s who can hang in there.”

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‘We don’t even know the guy’

Just down the street from Hill’s is Paso del Norte, a local Mexican restaurant.

Miguel Ramos has owned the restaurant for 30 years. Inside of Paso del Norte, the walls are painted a bright shade of orange, and have colorful murals throughout the space.

Ramos is looking at a display case full of Polaroid pictures in the front entrance of the restaurant. Many of those have people pictured wearing sombreros. When people celebrate their birthday at Paso del Norte, they’ll get their picture taken wearing a sombrero.

Handwritten cards and thank you notes fill the display case, too. He said he’s had great customers over the years — and built relationships with the people who’ve dined there.

Ramos also said that he has loyal Canadian customers. But some customers have concerns they’ve shared with him.

“Some customers, you know, they have said, you know, ‘We don’t come down because of the new rules, regulations and we don’t like somebody,’” Ramos said. “I tell them, ‘We’re not even related, you know. Like we don’t even know the guy.’”

Ramos said that the business has seen about a 30% decrease in business. He’s worried about his employees, too.

“We’ve been here 30 years, I think we had a pretty good run,” he said. “And I guess tell my wife, you know, it is what it is. You can do so much, you know?”

Jenna Dennison is a reporter with Northwest Public Broadcasting. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.

It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/08/17/blaine-washington-canadians-visit/