Tariff tensions don’t stop annual Christmas tree gift from Nova Scotia to Boston

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This article was published 12/11/2025 (304 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

LUNENBURG – Gripping a chainsaw as it roared to life, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu, clad in orange safety gear, cut into the 42-year-old white spruce in Lunenburg County under the watchful eye of Cape Breton certified tree-felling instructor Waddie Long. 

After Long made the final cuts, a crane lifted all 45 feet of the spruce into the air and loaded it onto a flatbed truck for a trip to Boston. It will go on display in the Boston Common — considered by the United States government as the oldest public park in the country.

Wu is the first Boston mayor to make the trip to Nova Scotia for the annual event. She told reporters she wanted to be there to “personally give thanks to the people of Nova Scotia to keep this friendship and keep our relationship going strong.”

She said she worried that because of the strained relationship between Canada and the United States, Nova Scotia wouldn’t want to send a tree this year. The Trump administration has imposed punishing tariffs on Canada, on industries including steel, aluminum and lumber. President Donald Trump has also repeatedly said he wanted to annex Canada.

“There were multiple moments where, as we’ve watched our federal government take actions that have been harmful to long-standing relationships …. where I wondered if Nova Scotia was still going to want to continue this tradition,” Wu said. 

In response, she said she called Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston, “and we had a lovely conversation and reaffirmed that this friendship dates back over a century and will continue on long after a particular presidential administration or regime.”

Nova Scotia gifts a tree to Boston every year in recognition of the aid Boston sent north after the deadly Halifax Explosion of 1917. Caused by the collision of two wartime ships — one of which was carrying explosives — the blast killed about 2,000 people, wounded 9,000 others and flattened a large section of the city, including a Mi’kmaq village on the other side of the harbour.

This year’s tree was planted by Ronald and Claire Feener on the front lawn of their former home more than 40 years ago. At the time, Ronald says, the sapling was barely a foot high. But they tended to the tree over the years, decorating it each Christmas. 

A crowd of hundreds gathered to watch the giant tree come down. Among them stood Susan Calkins, who moved to Lunenburg from Boston last year, and has watched the lighting ceremony at the Boston Common many times. 

“For the past 20 years plus, I’ve been buying Christmas trees from Nova Scotia in the Boston area. So now this is very special.”

Phil Hopfe, Calkin’s companion, moved to Canada from Boston several years ago. He says in light of Trump’s constant threats to make Canada the 51st state, this year’s tree-gifting is very meaningful. 

“I’d like to extend an invitation for New England to separate and join us here in the Maritimes. We’d love to have you,” Hopfe said. “I think a lot of New Englanders would love to be here. It’s a wonderful province to be in; it’s beautiful with friendly people.” 

The topic of strained relations between Canada and the U.S. came up multiple times during the short tree-cutting ceremony.

Susan Corkum-Greek, MLA for Lunenburg, said the years of friendship between Nova Scotia and Boston, reflected in the tree-cutting ceremony, will outlast the current trade conflict. 

“This is about the people of Boston who responded in mere hours and loaded a train for Halifax,” Corkum-Greek said about the help Boston sent north more than 100 years ago. “There are always people beyond politics and ultimately the strength of people, I believe, prevails.”

During a short address before the cutting began, Wu drew a round of applause when she said that Boston holds “special this important friendship between our two coastal port cities. And that also means that to this day, Boston refuses to bow down to chaos and cruelty, even when it’s coming from our own federal government.”

Besides, says Long, who supervised while the tree was cut and loaded onto the truck, this tradition is more enduring than any one president or current political climate. 

“We have been through many trying times and we’re going through one right now, but this too will pass,” Long says he told Wu after the tree came down. “It’s been 108 years. And we’re still saying, thank you, Boston. So I say to the people of Boston, we see you, we love you. Happy holidays, right?”

The tree will make it’s way to Halifax for the annual parade of lights on Nov. 15, before continuing south to Boston, where it will be installed at the Common during a lighting ceremony scheduled for Dec. 4.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2025.