Trump’s tariffs on Canada could cost him several red states

If you were a conspiracy theorist, you might think President Trump is trying his best to get Republican candidates defeated in the November midterm elections. That’s because the tariffs he recently imposed on Canadian imports, and Canada’s response by imposing tariffs on U.S. imports, hit several red states very hard, which is fueling voters’ anger.

Trump is apparently upset with the U.S.-Canada trade imbalance. Americans buy more imports from Canada ($454 billion in 2025) than Canadians buy from the U.S. ($426 billion). That’s a $27 billion trade deficit. But the United States has nearly nine times the population of Canada. Of course, Americans buy more.

Canada is America’s second biggest trading partner. Sales and jobs in both countries depend on a vibrant cross-border trading economy, which Trump’s tariffs could undermine.

A recent assessment by the Visual Capitalist highlights 23 states that get most of their imports from Canada. Among the states with closely watched elections are Maine, which gets 68.7 percent of it imports from Canada, Alaska (40.7 percent), Minnesota (33.5 percent), Iowa (26.6 percent), and Ohio (18.7 percent).

But trade is a two-way street. It’s not just the increased costs — up to 50 percent more — U.S. companies, small businesses (like farms) and consumers must pay for Canadian imports. There are also U.S.-made products and services that Canadians may decide not to buy from the United States because the of the tariffs Canada, in response, imposed on imports from the United States. The........

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