As Americans head to the polls for midterm elections Tuesday, the outcome could have significant consequences for Canada. CTVNews.ca will have live results, breaking updates, real-time election data and on-the-ground reporting from key battleground states. ANCHORAGE, ALASKA – A shipment of helicopter parts from Ontario was supposed to cost Steve Richards about US$9,000 for his aviation business in Alaska. Instead, 10 days after the parts arrived, his jaw dropped when he received a second bill: US$9,100 in tariffs charged to his credit card by the shipping company. The owner of Ridgeline Aviation is disputing the charge that was applied by the shipping company, and says the experience is just one example of the non-stop uncertainty facing businesses in Alaska that rely on foreign suppliers during the U.S. trade war. “You can’t do business this way,” Richards said. “Frustration was sort of where it came to initially, but I mean, now it feels like a kind of a plot to tank the economy.” As the conflict drags on between Canada and the U.S., it is putting a strain on the complex economic ties that bind the border state with its neighbour, and has emerged as a key election issue that could see the state elect a Democratic senator for the first time in nearly two decades and help the Democrats gain control of the U.S. Senate. Due to its unique, remote geography and a population roughly equivalent to Winnipeg, Alaska imports a massive portion of its food and consumer goods, including approximately $1 billion in Canadian products each year. That includes everything from refined Canadian petroleum and crude oil to food, lumber, machinery and industrial goods. And unlike other U.S. states, it is difficult for Alaskans to pivot to domestically produced alternatives if tariffs have driven up the price of a Canadian product. Experts say the inflationary effect of tariffs is exacerbating an already existing affordability problem in Alaska, where more than 80 per cent of communities are only accessible by air, and pay a premium for just about everything. “Where we are geographically, I mean, the support that we get out of people in Canada is pretty critical for parts and equipment,” Richards said. “And, you know, we travel through there when we go back and forth. So, yeah, kind of an interesting choice of people to pick a turf war with.” ‘I can’t give people consistent pricing’ Richards operates helicopters and aircraft based in Cordova, a coastal community not connected to Alaska’s main road network. His company provides charter services and supports companies involved in telecommunications, scientific research, and wildlife monitoring. Richards says the shifting tariff environment is making it difficult to estimate costs for customers planning projects well in advance. “I can’t give people consistent pricing,” he said. “Most of these people are planning projects that are a year or two years in advance and they want to know, like, ‘Hey, what’s this going to cost us to support this project?’ Well, I mean, I can’t tell them.” For Richards, the economic math behind the tariff war started by U.S. President Donald Trump doesn’t add up. “I’m not like a wildly liberal guy. You know, I live in Alaska, I’m a male business owner, hunter, whatever,” Richards said. “From an economic standpoint, this is just suicide, you know?” Higher costs, fewer customers In Anchorage, Paxson Woelber runs Ermine Skate, a small manufacturer of Nordic skates, which are long metal blades that attach with bindings to cross-country ski boots. “They’re perfect for skating on outdoor ice that might be a little bit bumpier and a little more inconsistent,” Woelber said. The blades are made in Alaska, but the business relies on internationally sourced materials and components. Woelber says tariffs are doing more than just increasing those costs. “They decrease the amount of money that our consumers have available to purchase discretionary goods like Nordic skates.” When he’s contacted by Canadians, Woelber says providing an estimate of how much they’ll pay is impossible. “I try really hard to work with them to find ways to get them skates,” he said. “But it feels like we’re sending our skates into the great unknown. I have no idea what kind of taxes or tariffs or fees they’re going to incur in Canada.” In the end, Woelber says both he and his customers are losing out. “It’s just really sad because we really want to supply and support the Canadian market. And the trade war just makes it incredibly difficult and chaotic and functionally impossible for a company our size right now.” Woelber says he is frustrated by the political tensions between the two countries. “I mean, it is humiliating watching our federal government act the way that it does,” he said. “Who picks a fight with Canada?” Trade, affordability, and controversy collide The trade dispute causing headaches in Alaska is unfolding ahead of the U.S. midterm elections this Tuesday, with Republican Sen. Dan Sullivan fighting to retain his seat against Democrat Mary Peltola. Alaska has traditionally gone Republican, and Trump carried the state by 13 percentage points in 2024. But the rising cost of living is emerging as a ballot box issue for voters, particularly in remote communities, where the price of gas and groceries can rise the further north you go. Most polls in the leadup to the midterms have Peltola holding a slight lead in a race believed to be one of a handful that could determine control of the chamber. But new revelations in a New York Times report alleging Peltola’s campaign was involved in recruiting another candidate with the same name as incumbent Sullivan, to confuse voters, has shaken up the race. The names “Dan S. Sullivan,” who is the Republican incumbent, and “Daniel J. Sullivan Jr.” will appear on the Alaskan ballot. Sullivan Jr. previously denied he was approached by Democrats to run. Peltola has called the allegations insulting, while Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has ordered an investigation into what he characterized as “disturbing new evidence of an organized effort to manipulate Alaska’s elections.” A federal judge dismissed a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to block certification of Alaska’s U.S. Senate race if Dan S. Sullivan loses.
