Gov. Phil Scott speaks during a press conference at the end of a summit of New England governors and premiers from eastern Canada in Shelburne on Monday, August 10, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger SHELBURNE – On Monday, leading figures from various Canadian regions highlighted how important it is to maintain a strong partnership with the U. S. They also stressed that both nations need to come together for a solid trade agreement in light of President Donald Trump’s recent tariff threats. Their remarks came during a media briefing at the conclusion of this year’s New England Governors and Eastern Canadian Premiers conference, amid ongoing tense discussions between the U. S. and Canada aimed at avoiding Trump’s suggested 50% tariffs on several Canadian products, which are set to begin next week. The leaders pointed out that Trump’s inconsistent trade policies over the past year and a half have been detrimental to the entire region. “What we’re living through right now with the tariffs, with the threat of tariffs, with some of the insults and the talking points, they’re difficult. There’s no way around that,” said Tim Houston, the premier of Nova Scotia. “They’re very difficult.” Rob Lantz, premier of Prince Edward Island, added, “We would all benefit from more free, fair, tariff-free trade.” During the conference, officials and business leaders explored ways to strengthen supply chains within New England and eastern Canada that are less affected by unpredictable U. S. trade policies. The event featured a visit to Beta Technologies in South Burlington, an electric aviation firm that was one of its major financial supporters according to provided materials. “We want to continue that strong economic relationship that we’ve benefited from for generations,” Lantz stated. Houston and Lantz spoke alongside Quebec’s international minister as well as Gov. Phil Scott and representatives from five other New England states at Shelburne Farms. <img decoding="async" width="1200" height="799" data-attachment-id="653012" data-permalink="https://vtdigger. org/govs-ministers-summit-2-20260810/" data-orig-file="https://vtdigger. org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/govs-ministers-summit-2-20260810. jpg" data-orig-size="2500,1664" data-comments-opened="0" data-image-meta="{" aperture":"4"," credit":" Glenn Russell"," camera":" NIKON Z 6_2"," caption":" Gov. Phil Scott looks on as Rob Lantz, premier of Prince Edward Island, left, gives way to Tim Houston, premier of Nova Scotia, at a press conference at the end of a summit of New England governors and prime ministers from eastern Canada in Shelburne on Monday, August 10, 2026. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger"," created_timestamp":"1786386819"," copyright":" Glenn Russell"," focal_length":"44", " ifso. compression_level":"default","shutter_speed":"0.008","title":"govs-ministers-summit-2 20260810","orientation":"1","alt":""}" data-image-title="govs-ministers-summit-2 20260810" data-image-description="" data-image-caption=" Gov. Phil Scott looks on as Rob Lantz.. Monday,.. Photo by Glenn Russell/VTDigger ” data-large-file=”https://ontariochronicle. ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/govs-ministers-summit-2-20260810-1200×799. jpg” src=”https://ontariochronicle. ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/govs-ministers-summit-2-20260810-1200×799. jpg” alt=”Five men stand near a podium labeled “Shelburne Farms,” with microphones and flags from various regions in the background.” class=”wp-image-653012″ />Gov. Phil Scott looks on as Rob Lantz, premier of Prince Edward Island, left, gives wayto Tim Houston, premierof Nova Scotia. atapressconferenceattheendofasummitof New Englandgovernorsandprimeministersfromeastern Canada in Shelburneon Monday August10 ,2026. Photo by Glenn Russell /VTDigger Last month Trump announced he would impose 50% tariffs on many Canadian goods such as vehicles, dairy items, and alcohol starting Aug.19. The White House claimed these tariffs were due to “Canada’s discriminatory treatment of American products,” stemming from uneven trading practices. For instance, many Canadian provinces have blocked sales of U. S.-made alcoholic drinks while not restricting similar items coming from other countries. Some Vermont distilleries like others across America have faced challenges becauseof those restrictions. Canadian provincial leaders have urged their federal government to bring up ending those alcohol bans during negotiations with Washington, D. C., Lantz informed reporters while noting it was “an irritant” for Trump. “This seems to be an opportunity to come to a comprehensive deal and tryto put mostofthisbehindus ifnotallofit, andmoveforward,”he said.“So thosealcoholbansaresimplyonthetable-butwewouldliketoknowwhatwegetinreturn.” Officials in Vermont have criticized this latest waveof proposed tariffs. Scott, a Republican, sentacommencementletterlastmonthto Howard Lutnick , Trump’s commerce secretary urgingtheadministrationtoreversethisdecisionfor Vermont’s economic tieswithitsnorthernneighbor’s sake. “Wecan support American workers, strengthendomesticmanufacturing, andinsistonfairtradewithoutunnecessarilyincreasingthecostoflivingforworking-class Americans or weakening our economic partnershipwith Canada,”Scottwrote.The governor notedthatas Monday hehad yettoreceivea response.! function(f, b, e, v, n, t, s) {if(f. fbq)return; n=f. fbq=function(){n. call Method? n. call Method. apply(n, argum ents): n. queue. push(arguments)} ; if(! f._fbq)n._fbq=n; n. push=n; n. loaded=!0; n. version=’2.0′; n. queue=[] ; t=b. create Element(e); t. async=!0; t. src=v; s=b. get Elements By Tag Name(e)[0]; s. parent Node. insert Before(t, s)}(window , document ,’script’,’ %%URL_4 %% ‘ ); fbq(‘init’, ‘298080038837837’); fbq(‘track’ ,’Page View’,{“page_title”:”New England , Canadian leaders tout cross-border ties in faceofthe Trumpu2019slatesttariffthreat “,”user_role “:”guest “,”event_url “:” %% URL _5 %% “, “post_type “:”post “, “post_id “:653049});
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