On the placid waters of Lake Memphremagog, a two-hour cruise ship diplomacy event was underway, but the mood was anything but tranquil. On September 16, 2025, officials from Vermont and Quebec gathered for what was more than just a scenic tour — it was a lifeline for cross-border business ties frayed by months of uncertainty and political turbulence. The event, hosted by the Vermont Agency of Commerce and Community Development, brought together elected officials, municipal leaders, trade representatives, and business owners from both sides of the border. The goal? To patch up a relationship battered by U.S. foreign policy decisions that have sent shockwaves through Vermont’s economy and its vital partnership with Canada.
"Bonjour, bienvenue. Hello, thank you," greeted Deputy Secretary of Commerce Tayt Brooks as the boat left the dock, setting the tone for a day focused on rebuilding trust. Brooks stressed the importance of Vermont’s business relationship with Canada, especially as federal policies have made the climate unpredictable. According to Vermont Public, Brooks emphasized that personal relationships now carry even more weight in this new, fraught environment.
The tension, as Vermont Public reported, isn’t personal — it’s political. President Donald Trump’s ongoing threats of new tariffs and his administration’s challenge to Canadian sovereignty have thrown a wrench into the gears of commerce and tourism. The impact? Confidence among Canadian businesses in the U.S. market has plummeted over the last eight months, according to surveys shared by Quebec’s delegate to New England, René Sylvestre. "You have to understand, we went from, let’s say a year ago, from unconditional trust to, oh, hold on a second, it’s more transactional," Sylvestre observed from the ship’s upper deck. His outlook was sobering: "I really believe we haven’t seen nothing yet."
The numbers back up the anxiety. Rick Desmarais, CEO of Track, Inc.—an off-road and remote-access vehicle seller with offices in Newport, Wisconsin, and Quebec—told Vermont Public that his company had to lay off 30% of its employees. The culprit wasn’t the tariffs themselves, but the uncertainty swirling around them. "We’re just looking for stability. Settle it one way or another," Desmarais said. "Until then our customers don’t want to buy, our suppliers don’t want to invest, so we’re stuck in the middle."
It’s not just business feeling the pinch. Tourism from Canada to Vermont has dropped off dramatically this summer, a trend that’s left local officials scrambling. Shanny Halle, spokesperson for Tourism Eastern Townships, revealed her organization has been running ads to reassure U.S. citizens they’ll be welcomed in Canada. But, as she noted, the challenge is steeper for Vermont’s tourism marketers trying to entice Quebecers south. "I think people are a little mad," Halle said. "They feel like betrayed at some point."
Marianne Dandurand, a Liberal Party member representing the Compton-Stanstead district in the Canadian Parliament, echoed this sense of disappointment. "It’s kind of being betrayed by a friend," she said, reflecting on how the events of the past eight months have changed the way Canadians view their relationship with the U.S. Still, Dandurand remained optimistic: "It starts from here. It starts from, first, grassroots, and we can go through it together."
Despite the tension, officials on both sides of the border agree on one thing: the economies of Canada and the U.S. are too intertwined to simply walk away. Bernadette Jordan, consul general of Canada in Boston, highlighted the uncertainty that U.S. policy has created for Canadian businesses. With Canada holding free trade agreements with 17 other countries, she noted, "We have focused primarily on the United States over the last number of years, decades. And I think Canadians are looking at where else they can go and where else they can sell things."
Tim Tierney, acting commissioner of the Vermont Department of Economic Development, acknowledged the uphill battle. "The investment has really slowed down on both sides. And I think that’s what is probably the scariest thing. People can’t work that way. They need to know what’s going to happen tomorrow, that’s how economics works."
Against this backdrop of local efforts to mend cross-border ties, another diplomatic drama was unfolding on the world stage. On September 23, 2025, France became the fifth country in just two days to officially recognize the state of Palestine. The announcement, made by French president Emmanuel Macron during a United Nations conference co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, aimed to generate new support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The declaration, delivered in the UN General Assembly hall, drew loud applause from more than 140 world leaders in attendance, as reported by The Independent.
"True to the historic commitment of my country to the Middle East, to peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, this is why I declare that today, France recognises the state of Palestine," Macron proclaimed. The Palestinian delegation, including UN ambassador Riyad Mansour and president Mahmoud Abbas, stood and applauded. Abbas, barred from attending the gathering in person by the U.S. government, addressed the meeting remotely.
This wave of recognition saw the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Portugal all recognizing Palestine on September 21, 2025. Now, about three-fourths of the 193-member United Nations recognize Palestine, though major Western nations had previously insisted that statehood could only come through negotiations with Israel. The creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel in the West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem—territories Israel seized in the 1967 Six-Day War—remains the internationally favored solution to a conflict that’s raged for more than a century.
But on the ground, the reality is grim. Israel, led by prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has opposed Palestinian statehood both before and during the current war in Gaza. Netanyahu has hinted at possible unilateral steps, including annexing parts of the West Bank, a move that would make a viable Palestinian state even harder to achieve. He faces pressure from his far-right coalition to proceed with annexation, though the United Arab Emirates—an Abraham Accords signatory—has called it a "red line." Netanyahu said he would decide on Israel’s response after meeting with President Trump at the White House the following week, his fourth such meeting since Trump returned to office. He was also scheduled to address world leaders at the UN on September 26, 2025.
The Trump administration has made its opposition to Palestinian statehood clear, blaming the growing recognition for derailing ceasefire talks with Hamas. Earlier in September, an Israeli strike targeted Hamas negotiators in Qatar, a key mediator in the ongoing conflict. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, however, dismissed the notion that threats or intimidation should halt efforts toward a two-state solution: "I think we have to be determined in achieving the goal that we want to achieve, and we cannot be distracted by threats and intimidation."
From the diplomatic decks of Lake Memphremagog to the global stage of the United Nations, the stories unfolding this September are reminders that, whether it’s a local business relationship or a century-old conflict, trust is hard-won and easily shaken. Yet, even in the face of uncertainty, leaders on both sides of every border seem determined to keep talking, keep reaching out, and—perhaps most importantly—keep hope alive.
