Working Life
Working Life
Working Life
Canada and the United States seem similar at first glance, so is life in the two countries really that much different? For dairy farmers, maple syrup producers and marijuana entrepreneurs, the answer is most certainly “yes.”
![The Friendly Stranger, a marijuana paraphernalia store, sells a variety of items. The store is filled with all sorts of items ranging from smoking supplies to marijuana themed gifts](https://www.thenewshouse.com/wp-content/uploads/special-projects/borderlines-2019/business-working-life/biz_marijuana_kassman-06-2.jpg)
The positive early returns from Ontario's first 10 pot shops encapsulate the optimism many people have for the future of the industry.
![Maple syrup collects in vats at a farm.](https://www.thenewshouse.com/wp-content/uploads/Special-Projects/Borderlines-2019/Business-Working-Life/Biz_MapleSyrup_Bolan-03.jpg)
Canada started taxing American maple syrup in response to US tariffs. But producers on both sides of the border view each other as neighbors.
![Cows at Loewith Farms in Lynden, Ontario, patiently wait before the farmers herd them to the robotic milking pumps for their afternoon milking session.](https://www.thenewshouse.com/wp-content/uploads/Special-Projects/Borderlines-2019/Business-Working-Life/Biz_Dairy_LouisPlatt-01.jpg)
Dairy is a nearly $2 billion industry in New York state alone. It faces challenges both international and domestic.
![Michele McCarthy, owner of Chantilly Rose boutique in Lewiston, New York](https://www.thenewshouse.com/wp-content/uploads/Special-Projects/Borderlines-2019/Business-Working-Life/McCrthy_Chantilly-Rose-e1559573189892.jpg)
A border, not a barrier
Love took a Canadian woman to the U.S., and an American women to Canada. They both deftly manage their lives on both sides of the border to succeed as business owners in New York.
![Bernadette Clement, Ontario’s first black, female mayor](https://www.thenewshouse.com/wp-content/uploads/Special-Projects/Borderlines-2019/Business-Working-Life/Biz_NewMayer_Caon-1.jpg)
Bernadette Clément, the first black, female mayor of Cornwall, Ontario, has seen her city’s growth stagnate. Now, the mayor is looking at immigration as a possible solution.