The Maine Department of Transportation will install 11 signs throughout the state welcoming Canadian visitors ahead of the summer tourism season as part of an effort to improve relations with the neighboring country, which have soured on the national level due to President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war.
The signs will be installed in key locations at border crossing and other locations throughout the state. That includes the border communities of Coburn Gore, Jackman, Fort Kent, Madawaska, Van Buren, Fort Fairfield, Hamlin, Houlton and Calais.
They’ll also be posted in the traditional tourism hotspots of Old Orchard Beach, Maine Turnpike rest areas in Kennebunk and the CAT ferry terminal in Bar Harbor, according to a spokesperson for Gov. Janet Mills. The administration says that the signs are a response to tensions stemming from federal tariff policies and harmful rhetoric toward Canada.
They will include welcoming messages in both English and French. Signs will cost between $45 and $60 each, depending on the size. The first sign has already been installed in Old Orchard Beach, with the others set to follow soon.
Smaller versions of the signs will also be made available at no cost to Maine businesses via the Maine Office of Tourism.
Mills was planning to make a formal announcement of the signs during a roundtable discussion Wednesday afternoon with the Kennebunk-Kennebunkport-Arundel Chamber of Commerce and York County business leaders about the impacts of tariffs and how this could affect the upcoming summer tourism season.
The discussion was set to take place at the Seaside Inn, which the administration said is a ninth-generation family-owned hotel that has seen a significant increase in cancellations from Canadians this year.
Along with tariffs, growing tensions between the two countries could also impact tourism, with Trump repeatedly threatening to make Canada the country’s 51st state and former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urging Canadians to not take vacations in Maine.
Another issue that has affected Canadians traveling to Maine in recent months is stepped-up searches of students crossing the border to study at universities in the state. Those difficulties have prompted some Canadian students to attend classes online rather than in person at Aroostook County universities.
During a Bangor tourism conference last month, Mills urged Mainers to welcome Canadian visitors amid the growing trade war tensions.
“We share a 600-mile boundary with Canada,” Mills said during the conference. “Maine and Canada have a cherished relationship, founded not only [on] a mutual financial economic advantage, but on centuries-old familial and cultural bonds that have always superseded politics. I am committed to working with Canadian leaders to preserve cross-border travel, encourage tourism to our respective jurisdictions, and promote each other’s economic advantages and amenities.”
The state saw 797,900 Canadian visitors last year, which contributed roughly half a billion dollars to Maine’s economy last year, the administration said this week.
