At the end of the waiter, Kristina Lampert uses two piles of secrets to separate her tricks: Canadian cash and American.

But it's been a few weeks since she did.

The van is the restaurant where she works, and one of the first places where people bite people for the first time after crossing the U.S.-Canadian border between Sarnia, Ontario and Port Huron, Michigan.

The blue water bridge connecting the United States and Canada enjoys panoramic views from the restaurant’s windows.

“A lot of people have ever come over and say ‘We’re here to enjoy the beauty’,” she said of Canadian diners. “I haven’t heard of it lately.”

Border towns noticed almost immediately when U.S. President Donald Trump began to impose tariffs on countries around the world and said he wanted Canada to be the 51st state in the United States as the number of Canadians crossing the border plummeted.

According to CBP data, the number of crossing points between the United States and Canada has dropped by about 17% since Trump began imposing tariffs.

According to Statistics Canada, nearly 32% of Canadians travel to the United States compared to March 2024.

Like many towns along the 5,525-mile (8,891 km) border, Port Huron and Port Sarnia are linked and depend on each other in some way. Port Huron is a manufacturing town of less than 30,000 people, with a quaint downtown area and many retail industries that provide visitors with an attractive opportunity for one-day trips.

On a day when traffic is low, Sarnia residents can cross the border in minutes and be in Michigan.

Many of these towns faced their first test five years ago when the Covid-19-19 pandemic closures cross landed for 19 months while the local economy was in trouble.

Now, they have seen a second economic blow due to Trump’s trade war, and many Canadians choose to “buy Canada” — buy Canadian-made goods — and reduce travel to the United States in response to wear and tear relations between the two neighbors.

People think it is a free duty in Sarnia, the last place you can buy before leaving Canada and entering the United States. Since the tariff tensions began, perfume and wine racks have become fuller and parking lots have become more empty.

Barbara Barett, executive director of Frontier Nution Association, said that since Trump returned to the White House, some of Canada's 32 land taxes have reached 80%. Most stores saw business drop by 50-60%.

“We rely 100% on travel at the border,” she said of the duty. “Our stores are often the backbone of these communities; communities rely on them.”

While the crossing of Port Huron’s port is better than most people’s transit, on a Friday in May, the parking lot for Sania’s obligations was almost empty.

Tania Lee, who runs the store with his family, said it has become a new norm.

On Easter weekends – usually one of their busiest year of the year, she said, as Canadians use their breaks to stop at their favorite restaurants and go to churches in Port Huron to serve – there are few cars and not far from sales, and sales aren’t what they should have been.

"We suffer from collateral damage to the border," Ms Lee said of her second-generation family business.

Ms. Lee noted that people living in border towns usually cross the border multiple times a week. For example, she has an mailbox at a transport facility in Port Huron, which she and her neighbors visit regularly.

Mayor Anita Ashford said it was also effective for people at Blue Bridge.

She heard news that the residents of the town and Canadians were frustrated by the increase in tensions among the various countries.

Nationally, Canada's tourism industry fell by 10%, which would cost the U.S. 14,000 jobs and $2.1 billion (£1.56b) of operations, according to the American Travel Association.

Michigan is one of the most likely places to bear the brunt. Canadian tourists spent $238 million in the state in 2023, according to tourism officials.

The mayor said the money is crucial for border towns such as Port Huron.

“I hope people in Washington can start to understand what they do to the people,” she said. “We are not responsible for it, and the (federal) government puts us in this position and now we have to deal with it with respect.”

“We need each other,” she said.