People have roamed across the 49th parallel on the west flank of North America for hundreds of years. Lately, many are thinking twice.
Canadians frequently stop by Blaine, Washington, for gas, dairy and other staples that tend to be cheaper across the border. But the trade and diplomatic fight U.S. President Donald Trump has picked with America’s northern neighbor is causing more Canadians to stay home.
Their boycotts have put business owners in Blaine and surrounding Whatcom County on edge, wondering how long the area’s economy can survive with fewer visitors from British Columbia to fuel it.
“There’s just no one around,” said Mike Hill, who runs a Chevron station in Blaine, population 6,200. Gasoline sales have dropped by 40% to 50% in the past few months, he said, and even the garbage cans by the pumps now rarely need emptying.“It’s crazy. Canadians are like our brothers and sisters with just that border between us,” Hill said.
Whatcom County has been a borderland for centuries.The longtime home of Indigenous peoples including the Northwest Coast Indians, the Lummi, Nooksack, Samish and Semiahmoo, the region was later claimed by Spain, Russia, England and the United States, according to the county’s official website.
Once part of the disputed Oregon Country territory, it was split in two by a treaty between the British and American governments in 1846, creating the northern boundary of the western United States. Whatcom County was established eight years later, 35 years before Washington gained statehood.
