The city of Blaine has experienced renewed interest from national news as the Trump administration’s policy changes could impact the border town, with a CBC News interview of Blaine mayor Mary Lou Steward last week being one of the latest spotlights.
In an interview with CBC’s The Early Edition segment with Stephen Quinn, Steward discussed President Donald Trump’s threat of Canadian tariffs, concerns of a federal funding freeze and immigration.
Steward said she was concerned a potential freeze to federal funding could impact the Bell Road Grade Separation Project, which would build an overpass above the train tracks near Bell Road and Peace Portal Drive.
“We can’t plan as a city when there’s chaos,” Steward said. “We’re in the process of trying to sign some significant contracts that depend on federal money and we can’t do that if we know the money will be ripped away in three or four months’ time, leaving us with contracts we can’t fulfill.”
The mayor discussed what the Canadian dollar being $0.69 to the U.S. dollar could mean for Canadian shopping, which provides an important tax base for the city. She added the city wanted to keep Blaine a welcoming place for visiting Canadians.
Steward also spoke to the Canadian public broadcaster about immigration, which later drew criticism from some Blaine residents.
“These deportations that are being carried out, very few are actually criminals if you actually look at it,” Steward said. “These are people who are needed to work in the fields because no Americans will certainly do that job. They are people who are needed on construction, and we need new homes just as much as you do.”
The six-minute interview clip can be viewed on the CBC website at bit.ly/4aVYSqe.
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