Border communities feel strain as U.S.-Canada trade war disrupts longtime friendship

For generations, International Falls, Minnesota, and Fort Frances, Ontario, have shared more than a border.

Separated by the Rainy River, the two communities have long considered themselves one city, with residents frequently crossing back and forth for shopping, work and recreation.

“We’ve always dipped back and forth,” said Christine Cridland, co-owner of The Flint House restaurant in Fort Frances.

“I just think it’s one big city,” said Tracy Jensen, a resident of International Falls who works in Fort Frances.

The mayors share that sentiment. International Falls Mayor Drake Dill and Fort Frances Mayor Andrew Hallikas describe each other as friends.

But that relationship is being tested by the escalating trade dispute between the United States and Canada.

“You have no idea how deep it cuts when we hear a president of the U.S. call us the 51st state when we are a very, very proud country,” Hallikas said.

Canadians know how to take a punch — they invented hockey. But many residents say the rhetoric and trade policies coming from Washington D.C. feel different.

“We feel betrayed. There’s no other word for it,” Hallikas said.

The Trade War Effect on International Falls

President Donald Trump began his second term by imposing 25% tariffs on $56 billion of Canadian imports, citing illegal immigration and fentanyl crossing the border as justification. Canada responded with tariffs on American goods, and some provinces removed American liquor from store shelves.

In February 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Trump’s emergency tariffs. But the trade fight continued, with the administration pursuing new tariffs under a different justification: trade discrimination.

The latest round of tariffs and counter-tariffs has affected products ranging from alcohol and dairy to hockey equipment, metals and vehicles.

International Falls Mayor Drake Dill says fewer Canadians are crossing the border, and local businesses are feeling the impact.

“If this is going to be an ongoing battle that deepens, we are going to have to brace for impact,” Dill said. “Any business locally, in International Falls, that is selling goods and services, is probably feeling the pinch.”

Eldon Voigt, who retired from the paper mill 15 years ago, now operates a produce stand in International Falls. He says Canadian customers, once a regular part of his business, have largely disappeared.

“I used to have a pretty good stream of Canadians going back and forth. But this year it’s been really slow,” Voigt said. “I can’t say I’ve sold to one Canadian all summer.”

Downtown International Falls, where Canadian shoppers frequently crossed the border to purchase goods they couldn’t get at home, store owners also report a slowdown.

Nikki Skifstad, owner of Haven, a home décor and gift store, said there have been times when certain Canadian products simply weren’t available.

Tracy Jensen, Skifstad’s aunt, said some Canadian customers who once visited regularly have not returned.

“I know people who used to come over on a regular basis that haven’t been over since COVID,” Jensen said.

Ted Dunbar, who grew up in International Falls, said the changes are visible throughout the community.

“I can see the town is kind of dying,” said Dunbar. “A lot of businesses that rely on that business from Fort Frances just aren’t getting it.”

Two International Falls business owners, who declined on-camera interviews, said they support Trump’s tariffs, hoping they will eventually bring down domestic prices. But they acknowledged their businesses have lost money and Canadian customers in the process.

The decline in cross-border traffic is also reflected in data from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

In the first six months of the second Trump presidency, the number of commercial trucks crossing this port of entry from Canada into Minnesota dropped 14% compared to the same months in 2024, with another 6% decline over the same span this year. The number of personal vehicles making the trip from Canada into the United States also fell 24% in the first half of 2025 with a slight uptick of 2% in the beginning of this year.

What Canadians in Fort Frances Are Saying

Fort Frances Mayor Andrew Hallikas says the frustration goes beyond economics.

“We think what comes out of President Trump’s mouth is juvenile, childish nonsense,” Hallikas said. “What kind of a head of state speaks like that?”

Still, Hallikas says the friendship between residents on both sides of the border remains strong. Fort Frances continues to fly American, Minnesota and International Falls flags outside its civic center.

“We are neighbors by geography, but we are friends by choice,” Hallikas said. “And when all this nonsense is done, we are still going to be friends.”

While fewer Canadians are heading south, some businesses in Fort Frances say they are seeing the opposite trend.

Sarah Noonan, the third-generation owner of La Place Rendez-vous hotel and resort on Rainy Lake, said business has grown in recent years.

“If anything, we kind of get funny phone calls where our American customers are rebooking and they open the conversation with, ‘I’m so sorry for what’s going on. Are we still allowed to come? I’m sorry for our president. We still want to book,'” Noonan said.

“Not very many Americans apologize to Canadians for things,” she added with a laugh.

Down the street, business is also doing well at The Flint House restaurant.

Co-owner Stacey Cridland said the restaurant is largely back to where it was before COVID-19. But tariffs and Ontario’s response have forced changes to the menu.

“Any American products, really, but the bourbon is probably the biggest thing because we can’t get it anywhere,” Cridland said. “We still see a lot of American guests coming in and they want their bourbon, and it’s sad we can’t offer it for them.”

Tariffs have forced Canadian leaders to open trading relationships with other nations.

In fact, for the first time in Pew Research’s 20 years of cross-national polling, Canadians have a more favorable view of China than they do the US.

The two communities were built around the railway and the paper mill. Both established in 1903. Both remain tourist gateways between two countries.

“Fort Frances is a long way from Ottawa, and we are a long way from D.C.,” Dill said.

As the trade dispute continues, the two mayors hope the threads of community can withstand the pulls of price and pride.

“They share common interest with us, common goals with us. That’s not changed. And it’s not likely going to change,” Hallikas said.