For more than 50 years, Northeastern governors and Canadian premiers have convened an annual summit to discuss the important alliance between the two countries. This year’s “Strong Partnerships, Shared Future” meeting, hosted Monday by first-term Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey, had added weight as the Trump administration’s tariffs and Canada’s retaliatory tariffs continue to complicate the relationship.
Leaders, including Healey, fellow Democrat New York State Governor Kathy Hochul, Republican Vermont Governor Phil Scott, and Progressive Conservative Party Ontario Premier Doug Ford, shared their trepidation, while reiterating how important it is that the neighboring countries find a path forward.
Healey said the tariffs are already hampering the commonwealth’s ability to serve as a leader of innovation.
“Today, actually, we open the international BIO convention," she said. "People are coming from all around the world to Massachusetts because we're recognized as a global hub for life sciences. That doesn't happen by accident. It happens because of years of investment, partnership, including international partnerships and trade partnerships that span the globe and certainly cross between the United States and Canada. Because of tariffs, we're seeing disruptions in supply chains to things that actually make that industry go here in Massachusetts, testing devices, testing equipment, sensors, stents, all sorts of technologies that are used in this space have been directly impacted because of tariffs specific to Canada.”
Hochul echoed Healey’s concerns about tariffs on Canadian trade hitting U.S. citizens hard.
“Americans need to know that that this is a tax on everything they buy, and it hurts our competitiveness, and we stand to lose hundreds of thousands of jobs if these truly go into effect as envisioned," she said. "So, I always want to call out what this is all about, as well as condemning the insults to our Canadian friends. We want them to come back to our country, but we understand the anger that they feel, but I'm worried about families in New York State and the additional costs that they're going to spend on everything, including energy.”
New York’s governor added that the state’s home energy costs depend on a strong partnership between the United States and Canada, noting that New York next year plans to power more than one million homes with hydroelectric power from Quebec.
Republican Governor Phil Scott of Vermont also mentioned the importance of hydro power and other energy sources as he discussed the mutual benefit of a free flow of ideas and commerce between the neighboring nations.
“We don't just buy things, sell things, visit one another- We build things together. We have we have families that are intertwined in Canada and in the States," he said. "So, it's really important to us. 50% of Vermont's energy comes from Canada. About 20%, 25% of that is from Hydro-Québec. We have, about natural gas in particular, 100% of our natural gas comes from Canada, and about 80% of our fuel comes from Canada. So, that tells you how important Canada is to the States, but we need each other in order to survive in the future.”
Ontario Premier Ford said Canada and the U.S. depend on each other, especially as China has cut off the U.S. from imports critical to technology, aerospace, and military use.
“Ontario has more critical minerals than anywhere in the entire world, and who do I want to send them to? I want to send them to our closest friends and allies," he said. "I've said over and over again, I love Americans. I love the US, Canadians love Americans. I know Americans love Canadians, and the rhetoric that we've been hearing out of the president is unfortunate. We want to continue to grow our relationship, give certainty to the world that the US and Canada is open for business.”
The meeting came as world leaders gather for the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada, to discuss everything from trade deals to ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
