The 4:30 ferry out of Yarmouth was half-empty. That’s rare in late spring. Normally, it’s packed with Canadians lugging beach chairs, grocery bags, and gift-shop tchotchkes from Bar Harbor. But this year, the luggage racks stayed bare. This year, Canada stayed home.
The drop-off wasn’t the weather. It wasn’t the exchange rate. It was policy—deliberate, punishing, and personal. And it’s hitting Maine and New Hampshire in every aisle of every store from Calais to Conway.
The tariffs are back. And this time, they’re not targeting countries. They’re gutting communities.
“You wait five minutes, and it might change.”
That’s how Allison Hope, a Maine ag consultant, described the chaos. The tariffs didn’t just hit one sector. They hit everyone.
Start with lobsters. Maine hauls in 100 million pounds a year, but the dirty secret is they’re processed in Canada. And if a lobster crosses the border now? It gets taxed coming back. That’s assuming it can get back. If Canada retaliates, there won’t be a market to return to.
Then there’s construction. The housing shortage in New Hampshire just got a lot worse. Builders can’t get the lumber they counted on. Canadian timber used to be a given. Now, it comes with a 25% tax and a warning: don’t sign fixed-price contracts unless you like losing money.
“We’re flying blind,” said a Gilford builder. “If prices jump another ten percent, I can’t make payroll.”
The Outdoor Gear Corridor—from Kittery to Conway—has gone quiet. One climbing gear company said its costs jumped 25% in a month. A New Hampshire bike shop canceled a seasonal order because the supplier couldn’t guarantee prices. “We’ve shelved the new line,” said the owner. “We can’t risk selling what we can’t afford to buy.”