Letters submitted by BDN readers are verified by BDN Opinion Page staff. Send your letters to [email protected]
You want to know why Canadians aren’t visiting Maine anymore? Why the border crossings are quiet, the restaurants emptier, and many summer rentals collecting dust?
It’s because we’re done pretending.
We’re done pretending that what’s happening south of our border is just politics. That we can separate “friendly neighbors” from the hostile rhetoric coming out of your leadership. When your president brags about taking over Canada by sabotaging our economy, that’s not just tough talk — it’s economic aggression. It’s a declaration that our sovereignty is disposable if it gets in the way of American ambition.
And then came the letter. A smug, condescending invitation from one of your own state senators, Joseph Martin, R-Rumford, urging our western provinces to abandon Canada and join the United States. He mocked our bilingualism, dismissed our parliamentary democracy, and treated our national identity like a failed experiment.
Let’s be clear: this wasn’t some anonymous internet troll. This was an elected official from Maine. Your Maine. And few of you stood up to say, “This isn’t who we are.”
So here’s our response.
We’re not coming. Not to shop. Not to vacation. Not to spend our hard-earned dollars in a place that sees us as weak, broken, or ripe for annexation. We’re not interested in being recruited, absorbed, or “saved.” We’re proud of our country. Proud of our values.
You want to know what happened to the friendship? You let your leaders torch it. You watched them insult us, undermine us, and treat us like a prize to be claimed.
We’re angry. We’re insulted. And we’re staying home.
Nicola Stefaniuk
Toronto, Ontario
