Maine’s governor was confronted on Tuesday with the reality of how fearful some New Brunswickers are about visiting the United States while U.S. President Donald Trump is in the White House.
Janet Mills was in Fredericton for the second day of a tour through Atlantic Canada, hoping to reverse — or at least slow — a steep decline in the number of tourists crossing the border to visit Maine.
She and Premier Susan Holt delivered a joint ode to cross-border connections to a Fredericton Chamber of Commerce audience largely concerned about the impact of tariffs on their businesses.
But two questions from participants brought into sharp relief how immigration raids and the rolling back of trans rights is scaring some Canadians away from U.S. visits.
“A lot of members of the queer community — a lot of Canadians feel unsafe, Canadians who are 2SLGBTQI+ absolutely feel unsafe going there,” said Vivian Myers-Jones, a member of the Saint John Pride board.
“It’s a terrifying thing going down there right now.”
Myers-Jones plans to travel to Bangor this weekend for Pride events there as part of a partnership between organizers in the two cities, but said many other members of the community are afraid to go.
Another member of the audience, business owner David Dennis, said his Venezuelan-born wife vetoed a planned trip to Maine this year despite his attempts to assure her that having Canadian citizenship would protect her at the border.
“Her fellow countrymen had been targeted for deportation and her comment was, ‘I’m not going to the States this year,’” he told the two political leaders.
WATCH | ‘It’s a terrifying thing, going down there’: Premier, governor hear concerns:
Even before the question-and-answer session, Holt herself used the U.S. political situation to encourage New Brunswickers to travel within the province this summer — as she has been since the Trump administration first announced tariffs on Canadian exports.
“Lots of people don’t feel safe in the U.S. right now and for good reason, and until that changes I think the climate for visitors will be difficult,” she said.
Mills said Maine has among the lowest crime rates in the U.S. and Canadians should feel secure hiking, skiing, swimming and shopping there.
“You can do that safely,” she said.
She acknowledged as governor she has no control over how the U.S. Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement operate in the state.
“But for the most part, they’re busy in other places. They know that the relationships between Calais and St. Stephen, Madawaska and Edmundston, are sacred, and I don’t think they want to damage those relationships either,” she said.
After the 90-minute session wrapped up, Mills approached Dennis while he was speaking to reporters and hugged him.
“Tell your wife we’ll keep her safe,” she said.
The governor said she could understand Canadian angst “when you hear one or two stories on a 4,000-mile border. It can be scary and people have a right to feel anxiety. But tens of thousands of people are crossing the border every day.”
She called New Brunswick’s multiple border crossings with Maine “the safest places in the world to cross an international border.”
Holt acknowledged that Mills opposes Trump’s policies, even challenging them in court.
But she said the governor’s assurances that federal immigration crackdowns are happening far from Maine won’t persuade everyone.
“Not knowing where they’re going to be next makes it a really uncertain environment for anyone who feels they might be targeted [by] ICE,” Holt said.
Visits by New Brunswickers to Maine have been down by about one-third this year compared to last year.
Holt is spending this week travelling around New Brunswick with Tourism Minister Isabelle Thériault to promote various destinations within the province.
The recent rain in Maine is easing the drought that parts of the state have been experiencing since the fall.
Scott Dean, a Spectrum meteorologist, said much of Maine has been at least “dry” for several months. Parts of the state, including Portland, Bangor and Bar Harbor, are under a “moderate” drought.
Much of the country is also experiencing a drought, Dean added. The Southeast is seeing extreme levels of drought, and the West coast has been under a drought for years. There are many factors that go into this, including climate change, weather patterns like El Niño and La Niña and other factors.
And, when an area does experience drought, it can become a feedback loop. With less moisture in the ground and atmosphere, the drought can “feed upon itself,” Dean said.
“It takes a while to get into a drought and it also takes a while to get out of one,” Dean said.
But, the rainy days in Maine have been alleviating the drought, Dean said. And, the trend is likely to continue — the forecast is predicting above average levels of precipitation for the next three to four weeks.
“Hopefully, we are continuing to head in the right direction as the drought has eased in these areas,” Dean said.
In fact, if these rains do continue, Maine could come out of the drought sometime this summer.
Craig Joseph Ahlemeyer
STANDISH – Craig J. Ahlemeyer, 48 of Standish, passed away unexpectedly, Saturday, June 13, 2026.A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m., Saturday, June 27 th at Standish Congregational Church, 25 Oak Hill Road in Standish. A reception will follow.To see Craig’s full obituary, share a memory or leave the family an online condolence, please visit http://www.athutchins.com.
“Do you ever think we could find some woods to walk in?” my outdoorsy 12-year-old asks me, every now and again. As a kid growing up in New York City, Anton appreciates all the skate parks and bagel shops, but he also really craves nature, like in his bones.
So, when school got out, I offered to take him for a weekend in Maine, a place with not only woods but also lakes and rocks and periwinkles that come out of their shells when you hum. We were both really excited.
The first night, we were lucky enough to snag a room at Aragosta, a beautiful small hotel in Deer Isle that Alison had recommended.
The chef-owner, Devin Finigan, is famous for her seasonal tasting menus, but we focused on the breakfast that came with the room, including these Maine blueberry pancakes. I don’t even usually like pancakes and these blew my mind.
We also played a LOT of chess on our little travel board.
After breakfast, we set out to hike up Blue Hill Mountain.
Here’s the summit!
In the afternoon, we explored the charming fishing village of Stonington…
…then joined my friend Julie (of Rudy Jude fame) and her family for dinner at the Burnt Cove Boil.
Basically, a crab gets plonked down in front of you, followed by a corn on the cob, then a lobster, then a classic ice-cream sandwich. Julie and her husband Anthony taught us how to get all the meat out. (Their kids were already pros.)
Afterward, the four boys scrambled around on the rocks, while the adults chatted. It’s always such a treat to hang out with people who live in the place you’re visiting, don’t you think? Julie and Anthony described how they brought their recently hatched chicks into their home to keep them warm, and all the peeping was sooooo loud — and then a cricket got into the house and added to the noise and no one could find it and everyone was going nuts, haha. Very different from city life!
The next day, Anton and I stayed at the lovely Asticou Hotel near Acadia National Park.
We drove to a couple trailheads but they were PACKED — you had to stand in a long line, just to start the hike! Luckily, we found a quieter area and took a long walk around Jordan Pond, playing Would You Rather and Categories along the way. Do you have any favorite travel games?
Finally, we skimmed stones on our last afternoon before heading back to Brooklyn.
Epic travel buddy
Oh, Maine, what a magical place! Not pictured, of course: traffic, grumpy preteen moments, locking our keys in the rental car, etc., but all that’s to be expected.
Have you been to Maine? Do you live there? What parts do you love? Any pro tips? I’d love to hear. xoxo
P.S. Our Maine trip — and another amazing hotel — when the boys were much younger, and a Maine home with a bedroom looking over water.
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