Jeff McCarthy is a professor of environmental humanities at the University of Utah. He worked on the Pier at Old Orchard Beach and, later, was a Fulbright Fellow to Canada.

There’s something important missing from Maine this summer. Driving from Portland to Belfast, I find I miss the Canadians. That’s right, I want to see more New Brunswick license plates, I want to hear more French spoken, I want to pass more Ontario families in line for lobster rolls.

This scarcity of Canadians comes from border policies that harm Maine’s economy, alienate our neighbors and betray misguided national priorities. That puts Mainers on the frontlines of a drastic change in America’s international relations.

Most years, 800,000 Canadian visitors travel to Maine and spend a half-billion dollars. They come for our beaches, sunshine and warm hospitality. Not in 2025; Canadians have been insulted into staying home.

Years ago, I worked at Old Orchard Beach, where half my clientele was from Quebec and Ontario. These happy visitors paid my salary and considered Maine their home away from home. Moreover, they brought an international perspective that taught me to appreciate my own language, state and country.

Now, unfortunately, the Trump administration’s approach to Canada damages both tourism and, also, the spirit of cross-border camaraderie that has joined our nations for a century. Canada is the largest market for American goods. Canada is America’s second-largest trading partner. Canada has gone to war beside the United States in every conflict since WWI.

Closer to home, Canada supplies Maine with 30% of its electricity and most of its trade. Hitting them with 35% tariffs and blustering about the 51st state is like insulting your loyal friend. The tourism costs to Maine can be repaired over time. What may take longer to heal is the faith in common purpose that stitched our distinct cultures together.

America’s international stature depends as much on alliances as it does missiles. I was a Fulbright Fellow to Canada and, when I mentioned Maine, was welcomed as a faithful cousin. The Fulbright Foundation exchanges academics toward international understanding.

The idea is that nations benefit from the open exchange of ideas, free trade and peace. These principles have benefited Americans with Canadian cooperation on electricity, aluminum, car manufacturing and tourism — to name just four. Bullying an ally like Canada betrays a retreat from republican virtue that would shock framer James Madison or Mainer Joshua Chamberlain.

Our government now makes enemies of parliamentary democracies — Canada, Denmark, France — while pandering to dictatorships such as Hungary, El Salvador and Turkey. As Sen. Fulbright urged back in 1946, it’s better to support open societies than to placate lying autocrats.

I recognize Maine competes with Canada on lumber and fishing and dairy. So, don’t think I’m some apologist for NAFTA. But even with healthy competition, we share important values now threatened by the Trump administration. With Canada we share a democratic view of elections, free press and free people. The president’s misguided insults to Canadian citizens generate fireworks on Truth Social, but they hurt Maine businesses and they hurt America’s standing as the leader of the free world.

Remember our state flag with the moose and the two guys? It says Dirigo, which translates as “I lead.” Maine can lead the nation by speaking back to rhetoric that demeans our neighbors. We can look across the St. Croix River or the Bay of Fundy and report that tariffs and threats undermine a productive partnership with a free society.

There are fewer Canadians feeling welcome in Maine because of Donald Trump’s autocratic bluster. That’s bad news from Kittery to Fort Kent, and bad news from our power bills to our politics. So, if you miss hearing French at the beach, if you wish business were better, if you care about democracy, stand up for Maine’s Canadian connection.