Canadian senator presses Ottawa on only land disputed between the US and Canada
An uninhabited island at the center of a century-old territorial dispute between Canada and the United States is back in the spotlight after a Canadian senator urged Ottawa to assert sovereignty over the piece of land.
Senator Jim Quinn of New Brunswick took issue with the fact that a US boat tour group describes Machias Seal Island on its website as being “on the coast of Maine.”
He asked Ottawa to review permission for the tourist group to visit the island – home to thousands of puffins – as well as the mention of the group on a government website.
Machias Seal Island is a small, rugged island located in a disputed “gray zone” between the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick.
The teardrop-shaped island is a migratory bird sanctuary and is described as “one of the most important seabird nesting colonies” by the Canadian government. It is also home to one of the southernmost puffin colonies.
There are no permanent residents, except for a rotating Canadian Coast Guard crew that operates a single lighthouse built there in 1832 by Canada.
The Canadian government lists two tourist groups authorized to visit the island: the Canadian company SeaWatch Tours and the American company Bold Coast Charter Company.
On its website, Bold Coast says it runs tours of “Machias Seal Island – the largest puffin colony on the Maine coast.” She adds that her operations are licensed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
It also acknowledges that ownership of the island has long been disputed, with the United States and Canada claiming sovereignty.
In the Senate Papers to be discussed Tuesday, Senator Quinn asked Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, which he says is the land administrator, why it is issuing a permit to a U.S. company “that actively describes Machias Seal Island as part of the State of Maine.”
He also questioned why the company is listed on the government website “given Canada’s sovereignty over the island of New Brunswick.”
The United States considers Machias Seal Island its territory.
The BBC has contacted the Canadian government and the Bold Coast Charter Company for comment.
The island is the only land in dispute between Canada and the United States, although a 1984 international court ruling gave both countries the right to fish in its waterways. Since then, Americans and Canadians have operated on and around the island, although the United States has long accused Canada of unfair trade measures in the local lobster fishery.
President Donald Trump’s decision to impose tariffs, including on Canada, to help boost U.S. investment and manufacturing, as well as past comments about Canada being the “51st state” have caused greater friction between the two countries.
It is because of these comments that Senator Quinn believes that Canada should assert its sovereignty over Machias Seal Island and ask Bold Coast to recognize it.
“This is unacceptable in this day and age, especially given the current situation with our southern neighbors,” he told local newspaper Global.
“We are being pushed in so many ways, and yet there is a porous spot on our border that no one is paying attention to,” said Senator Quinn.
