During CSPAN’s “Campaign 2026,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) spoke with reporters at the Madison-Anson Days Parade that President Donald Trump’s tariffs on Canada are a “mistake.” Collins went on to say, “I still think imposing new tariffs on Canada is a mistake. I met recently with the Canadian ambassador. I urged him to make sure that Canada dealt with one barrier that they do have, and that is to dairy products.”
Collins then said that she “encouraged” the ambassador to “take care of that” issue because she really wants the U.S. and Canada to “go back to the very friendly, economically beneficial relationship that we have with our Canadian neighbors.” The Maine Republican added, “We produce a lot in Maine, our blueberries, our potatoes, our lobster, our lumber, that is processed across the border.”
“If it comes back with a huge tariff on it, perhaps as much as 50%, that increases the cost of eating, building homes, and merchandising our best known products,” she told the reporters. “So I have voted repeatedly against the Canadian tariffs. This has been really up and down. Yesterday I thought we had an agreement,” she added.
“This morning I read that it had collapsed. So who knows what tomorrow will bring, but I hope it will bring an agreement,” Collins concluded, according to a report from Breitbart News. Notably, Vice President JD Vance is currently in Maine, yet Collins, who is currently seeking reelection, is not joining him, despite facing an uphill battle in the race.
Vance paid a visit to Brewer, Maine, where he stopped at Compotech, which is a defense technology manufacturer, where he delivered an address. This is the second time this year that Vance has visited Maine and the second time that Collins has not teamed up with him, which many believe indicates that Collins, who is known as a Republican In Name Only (RINO), is not on the best of terms with the rest of the Trump administration.
According to Fox News, Collins was one of a small group of Republicans who voted to impeach Trump during his first term in a 2021 Senate trial after the House impeached him following the January 6, 2021 incident at the U.S. Capitol Building. She has voted against the Trump administration and its agenda on several occasions.
Collins has stated that she supports the House version of the SAVE America Act, which requires documented proof of U.S. citizenship in order to vote and a photo ID to be presented before casting a ballot in all federal elections. However, she voted along with three other members of the GOP and all Democrats in voting against advancing the Senate version of the legislation.
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The Maine senator is also not on board with the Trump administration’s efforts to crackdown on illegal immigration and the aggressive push for deportation. Several fatal shootings since the operations began in 2025 have led to the president and federal immigration authorities taking significant criticism. Another deadly Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shooting took place in Collins’ home state of Maine this summer.
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