South of the border in Grand Forks, N.D., the Canadian and American flags wave together outside the Visit Greater Grand Forks building.
“We do put a lot of effort into it. We enjoy the friendship with Manitoba,” Visit Greater Grand Forks executive director Julie Rygg said.
But that friendship is now a little rocky. Ongoing tariff disputes between Donald Trump and Justin Trudeau have many Canadians cancelling American travel plans and focusing on shopping local.
Actions like these affect American cities like Grand Forks.
“The Manitoba traveller has a big impact on our community,” Rygg said.
She adds Visit Greater Grand Forks has received some strong messages from Canadians lately.
“We’ve had some well thought-out emails that visitors have shared with us. We are keeping those, We are sharing them with local, state and national leadership,” Rygg said.
At city hall in Grand Forks, mayor Brandon Bochenski has been monitoring the tariff situation closely.
“Canada is North Dakota’s biggest trade partner, and a very important trade partner so we don’t want to see that damaged. We want to have fair trade policies between the two,” Bochenski said.
He says Canadians add to the local economy and retaliatory tariffs would impact everything from construction prices to food prices.
“We’re watching it. It’s a little tit for tat right now,” Bochenski said. “We are hoping an agreement can come that levels the playing field for everybody. I think that’s all people want on both sides.”
Many Grand Forks residents Global News also spoke to are on edge, wondering how tariffs could impact them. Some were concerned over inflation, while others think tariffs could be good thing for the United States.
Ultimately, no matter what’s happening in Washington, most North Dakotans want to stay friendly with their Manitoban neighbours.
“One of our closest allies to the north we want to keep that relationship strong,” Bochenski said.