Windsorites annoyed, disappointed with Trump’s treatment of Canada
Threats of annexation and on-again, off-again tariffs are wearing thin with Detroit’s neighbors to the south.
The Detroit skyline as seen from Windsor, Ontario on March 19, 2025.
The relationship between Detroit and Windsor is a microcosm of what’s been happening in recent weeks between the U.S. and Canada. President Donald Trump’s constant threat of tariffs and annexation have brought heated rhetoric and international tension.
It’s affecting the lives — and vibes — of Windsorites.
“It is getting tense, and it is getting very stressful on this side of the border, and you can actually feel it,” said Rino Bortolin, a former Windsor City Councilor. He owns Petrella’s, a sandwich shop in the Ford City neighborhood.
Bortolin isn’t alone. WDET approached more than a dozen Windsorites to ask them how they were taking the recent stress in Canada-U.S. relations. People had thoughts — but were often hesitant to have them recorded. But off the record, they expressed a mixture of disbelief and disappointment.
Bortolin says the whole ordeal has been difficult.
“We’ve got season tickets to Detroit City FC soccer [and we are] over there, quite a bit with friends family,” Bortolin said. “So I’m trying to separate the people versus what’s happening at the government level. But it is very difficult.”
DCFC’s home opener was Saturday. But Bortolin says the bad vibes are keeping folks from crossing the border.
“I’ve got four tickets. Kids probably can’t come. It’s been hard to find three people to fill those seats,” Bortolin said. “So people that go regularly for concerts, cultural events, dining, other events where they even know people over in Detroit, even they’re putting a hard stop on on going over and crossing at all.”
And that’s not just anecdotal. Data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection show crossings dropped last month by 470,000 when compared to February 2024.
The last time crossings were this low was 2020, during the early days of COVID.
That sounds about right to Sarah Dewar, the owner and sommelier at Maiden Lane, a Windsor wine and cocktail bar.
“I feel after the pandemic, it’s finally been rebounding,” said Dewar. “We’re getting the American tourism again, and it’s really disappointing to think that these positive gains we’ve made will be reversed.”
Dewar knows it can be tough to get people to make the trip.
“I think as Windsorites, living on a border city, we pay attention to what’s going on in Detroit, whereas Detroit doesn’t necessarily pay attention to what’s going on over here,” Dewar said. “U.S., Canada, you could say the same thing.”
In response to American tariffs, some Canadians have focused on using goods made in their country, and calling for a boycott of ones made in the U.S. For a bar owner, that means an embargo on products like American whiskey.
However, Dewar says it’s difficult given the close ties between countries, industries, and people.
“You know, I can’t get on board with a full-on boycott of all things American,” Dewar said.
She’s worried it might get worse.
“I hate the division that it has the potential to cause between just the average person. You know, we have friends. We’ve created relationships with people over there in the same industry, and we love going to visit them,” Dewar said.
“We love it when they come over here. And I hope, I hope that we can repair it. I don’t think it’s too far gone.”
Still, the situation is seen as disrespectful to an ally and neighbor who has dealt with a lot.
Member of Parliament Brian Masse is with the New Democratic Party. He’s represented the Windsor West riding for more than two decades and is running in next month’s federal elections.
“We were the ones going over to Detroit to support the businesses in Greektown and the sports culture and so forth, when people said it was not even safe to visit,” Masse said. “So right now, there’s a sense of fatigue from our citizens because of the insults going on with regards to Trump.”
Masse knows the importance of a healthy Great Lakes ecosystem and has been working on getting the Ojibway Prairie Complex—a stretch of Windsor along the river across from Zug Island—designated a National Urban Park.
“Those things are at risk, and so we’re going to need to see people step up and figure out that it just can’t be taken for granted, the [U.S. / Canada] relationship anymore, because the constant elements coming out of the White House and the confusion is going to cost real jobs, cost real friendships, and it’s going to take away from our quality of life,” Masse says.
Because of that, Masse doesn’t blame Canadians for expressing their frustration with the U.S. via their wallets.
“The problem that we have here, though, is for people to actually think about getting in their car or going on a trip into the US and potentially face some of this stuff is exhausting, and they have other options.”
Those options are fully on display at Valente Travel next door to Masse’s office on Ouelette Avenue.
Travel agent Melanie Harding says many Canadians are rerouting their big trips.
“We have had some cancelations,” Harding says. “Some people feel strongly about it, where others are still willing to travel.”
But don’t count Harding among those who are discouraged from going to the U.S.
“I’m going to New Orleans,” Harding says. “It’s our anniversary, so I’m not putting that on hold for anyone.”
Windsorite Edward Semenski isn’t phased either. When asked by WDET if he wants Canada to become the 51st U.S. state: “Sure, why not?”
Semenski, who was reading a Bible when approached by WDET, says he appreciates Trump’s Christian values. Still, he doesn’t plan to cross the border anytime soon.
“I don’t think I’m going to be able to go to the U.S.,” Semenski says. “I have a criminal record, even though I used to live in Detroit.”
However, Semenski says he’s holding out hope.
“I’m gonna get a try to get a pardon first before I try going over there.”
For as tight as the two countries have been historically, something feels off. Call it a vibe shift.
Bortolin says the honeymoon is definitely over.
“I think this will be something that causes generational harm and a shift from the relationship,” Bortolin says.
“It’s like your partner cheats on you the one time, and…it can’t go back after that. And it’s like, there’s always something in the back of your mind. And this is one of those things that will always be in the back of our minds.”
A recent pro-Canada demonstration drew hundreds to Detroit’s Hart Plaza and to the base of the giant Canadian flag along the Windsor riverfront. It was a show of support on both sides of the border – and a reminder that Americans and Canadians can still be good neighbors… even when the U.S government isn’t.
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