Farmers in U.S. border towns say future road closures are unfair to Canadians | CBC Radio

Roger Hogus is a wheat farmer from Sweet Grass Hills, Montana. He grew up just a few kilometers from the Canada-U.S. border.

The 14 kilometers of well-maintained gravel road that connects his community to Coutts, Alta., is called Border Road.

“We rode our bikes, go-karts and horses across and spent an hour or two chatting with each other,” he said. as it happened Hosted by Nir Koksal.

Like many Americans living in border towns, Hogus’ family knew many Canadians and considered their neighbors to the north to be friends and good people.

But thanks to President Donald Trump, that easy-going travel will come to an end this summer.

Starting July 1, Canadians’ access to this historic road will be restricted and a parallel gravel road will be installed on the Canadian side.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says Canadians will not be prohibited from driving on border roads, but they must first enter the U.S. through a port of entry.

Horgus does not support this change.

“I didn’t think this was fair because I feel they made some sort of agreement and the United States broke it,” he said. “A lot of money would be wasted building two roads.”

Road closures frustrate residents on both sides of the border

The border road was created under a 1908 treaty. This agreement forced Canada and the United States to employ modern surveying techniques to draw the border, resulting in several changes to the border.

The shared road is on the Montana side but is maintained by the province of Alberta.

Alberta’s Transportation Minister Devin Dreshen suggested last year that change would come in 2026. Dreshen told The Canadian Press $8 million has been allocated for the construction of the gravel road. Construction will begin in April, with the goal of having the road completed by summer.

Hogus said residents were asked to share their opinions on the proposed changes, but he believes the meeting was only trying to appease residents.

“They were acting as if they wanted our opinion, but they had already made all the decisions. But why did they come to ask us?” he said.

The road closures are the latest measures to coincide with President Trump’s approach to the U.S. border. President Trump says he wants border roads to be closed, along with other security measures, to prevent drug traffickers and illegal immigrants from entering the United States.

Last year, President Trump accused Canada of sending fentanyl south of the border. But data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection shows that from 2013 to 2024; 99 percent of the pills and 97 percent of the powdered fentanyl captured in a major seizure at the U.S. border came from Mexico.ah.

Hogus, who has seen increased security around borders and communities since the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, argues that these new security concerns are unfounded.

“They’re saying they’re understaffed and don’t have enough officers to handle border control, so that’s why they’re doing this,” Hogus said.

He said residents can act as extra eyes for law enforcement and alert police.

Hogus has noticed an increase in the number of stops at the border while traveling with his family. He said he was stopped by police at least six times for mistakenly confusing him and his family with Canadians.

“They would stop us and say, ‘We’re crossing the line and coming from Canada,’ but we didn’t do that,” he said.

But Hogus said he plans to continue visiting friends in Canada and doing business with people across the border despite the additional obstacles.

“We go to Canada a lot because we have good parts inventory there and we have good parts people,” he said. “I like where I live. It’s a good neighborhood and all my neighbors are good people. It doesn’t matter which side they’re on.”