Since taking office in January, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly questioned the sovereignty of Canada's northern neighbour. He disparagingly referred to its prime minister as a "governor" and called Canada the "51st state" of the USA. This was accompanied early on by sensitive Customs dutieswhich are causing the Canadian economy severe problems due to its close ties with the US economy.
Great frustration in Canada about the neighbour
The traditionally close friendship between the inhabitants on both sides of the long border has cooled considerably as a result. Previously unthinkable, disgruntled Canadians repeatedly whistled during the US national anthem at joint sporting events.
In addition, American goods are now increasingly being boycotted in Canada or removed from the shelves by supermarket chains. Holidaymakers are changing their holiday plans: instead of seeking the sun in Florida, they are switching to the Bahamas and Bermuda.
Water sports are affected
The new uncertainty does not stop at sailing either - with a clear impact on the regatta season, for example on the Great Lakes: as the committee of the Lake Ontario Offshore Racing in Toronto, its races will no longer be held across borders this summer, but only in Canadian waters.
This affects events such as the international Susan Hood Trophy Race at the end of May, which has been taking place since 1955, and the Lake Ontario 300, which starts and finishes in Canada but actually runs around the entire lake - including along its southern shore, which belongs to the US state of New York. The main reason cited is the safety concerns of the registered participants.
Fears when travelling to the USA
So far, reciprocal visits by local crews have been the order of the day in the coastal areas on the border between the two countries. On the Atlantic, this area is the southern part of the Bay of Fundy, while on the Pacific it is the sheltered waters between Seattle and Vancouver.
However, in recent weeks there have been more and more problems with routine attempts to enter the country by land. Not only are stricter checks now being carried out - a Canadian woman, for example, suddenly found herself in a US prison for no reason at all; a case that attracted a great deal of media attention in Canada. This uncertainty, triggered by Donald Trump's policies, is now also affecting water sports.
Since corona, people in Canada have been forewarned
However, the current mistrust of Canadians on the water is not entirely without precedent: during the coronavirus pandemic, boats were also completely banned from entering the country at times. Nevertheless, numerous cases have been documented in which skippers based in the USA disregarded this. On the west coast, this was sometimes done by taking advantage of a special regulation that allowed passage to Alaska - a destination that very few of the skippers caught actually had on their itinerary.
