The trade war between Canada and the United States is being felt on both sides of the border. A cheesemaker in Vermont who relied heavily on the Canadian market is speaking out, saying his shipments north of the border have disappeared. Mateo Kehler, owner of Jasper Hill Farm, says many of his products would have been destined to be sold in Canada just a few years ago. “Went from gangbusters to zero cases,” Kehler said in a Zoom interview with CTV Ottawa from his Greensboro, Vt. facility. Many of his products were being sold in Quebec and Ontario, but after President Donald Trump began to talk about Canada being the “51st state” and imposing tariffs in 2025, he says orders stopped and haven’t returned more than a year later. “It’s hundreds of thousands of dollars,” he said. “We don’t expect that to come back very quickly.” He says the company is also facing increased costs, including on equipment, due to tariffs. He says other border state businesses are dealing with the same. “This is going to have long lasting impacts on the Vermont side,” he said. “It’s actually enraging.” Autumn is the time of year when tourists from places like eastern Ontario flock to Vermont, but Jeff Lawson with the Lake Champlain Chamber of Commerce says that’s not expected this year. “The issues that are going on at the federal level, really, it’s kind of like a gut punch for our visitor economy,” he said. Lawson says the region isn’t seeing visitors the way it once did, and businesses like restaurants and hotels are feeling it. “It hurts on a number of different levels, not just economically,” he said. “There’s a lot of cultural ties, a lot of family ties, a lot of friendships that have really been strained over this period of time.” “We understand and respect that decision. And will be ready here with open arms when the tide changes and people are ready to give us a visit.” Kehler says the same. He says his business is moving forward with new markets but is hoping that if and when things change, Canadians will return. “I think if we were experiencing the behaviors of our president, we would probably do the same thing, dig in our heels and vote with our wallets. We understand.”
