The enclave of Point Roberts, Wash., once thrived with a mix of Americans and Canadians. Now the border checks are a hassle, the community is isolated and businesses are withering.
By Ken Belson Photographs by Ruth Fremson
Ken Belson crossed two borders to get to Point Roberts.
The five-square-mile nub of land at the end of the peninsula in Washington State is easy to miss. It’s attached to Canada, about an hour south of Vancouver, but sits just below the 49th parallel, which means it’s part of the United States.
Point Roberts is a one-of-a-kind community, surrounded by water on three sides and sharing a land border with Canada to the north. Canadians own about 70 percent of the homes, while for years Canadian day-trippers flocked to Point Roberts to buy cheap gas, groceries and beer, and to board their boats docked at the 950-slip marina.
But President Trump’s attacks on Canada, claiming it should be the 51st state and calling the prime minister “governor,” have introduced new hassles and unusual tensions to this community of 1,200 full-time residents. The number of cars crossing the border at the entry at Point Roberts fell 29.3 percent in April compared to the same month in 2024, as some Canadians are no longer making the trip to frequent Point Roberts stores and restaurants.
Sales at the International Marketplace, the only supermarket in Point Roberts, have fallen 20 percent since the end of January.
“I totally understand where the Canadians are coming from, but we need their support when times are tough,” said the owner, Ali Hayton. “That’s not going to happen this time. Nobody saw this coming. This is next level.”
The backlash to the president’s expansionist broadsides has reverberated all along the 5,500-mile U.S.-Canadian border. Trade has been disrupted in sister cities like Windsor and Detroit. Canadians have canceled vacations to the United States and some have sold their vacation homes in Sun Belt states. Canadians are shopping less in border cities like Bellingham, Wash., and Buffalo. (continued on page 2 here)
Trump is SOOOO tacky and cheap. Only he could alienate such good neighbors as Canadians.
Alice Blair Wesley