PORT ANGELES — Red sweaters, maple leaf-themed apparel and “welcome back” signs peppered the Port Angeles waterfront Thursday morning as residents turned out in support of the Coho ferry reopening.
In the face of escalating relationships between the United States and Canada, the Port Angeles Waterfront District (PAWD) organized a crowd to show support for the ties between Port Angeles and Victoria.
Starting about 11:30 a.m., more than 150 people lined the sidewalk and streets surrounding the ferry, waiting for the vessel’s first voyage since it closed in January for scheduled maintenance. They held signs reading “Looney for Canada,” “Welcome back, eh,” “I love poutine,” “Canada from sea to sea,” “Won’t you be my neighbor” and more.
“We want to show our support,” Port Angeles resident and second-generation Canadian immigrant Aimée Bradley said. “We need each other.”
Many people waved Canadian flags, and bagpipe players provided live music.
Chelsea Doyle and her two children, Rosie, 4, and Elliot, 2, stood near the street with cardboard signs and red-and-white hearts painted on their faces.
“We’re very divided as a country,” Doyle said. “[But], as a town, Port Angeles has come out together in support.”
Cheers rose from the crowd as the ferry docked and again as the passengers disembarked.
“Who doesn’t love Canada?” Port Angeles resident and French Canadian descendant Mary Rivarda said.
Port Angeles City Council member and downtown business owner Drew Schwab also stood in the crowd, ready to support the relationship that spans the 22 miles between the cities.
“I think it’s particularly important right now to show at least local officials support Canada,” he said.
“I think the relationship between Victoria and Port Angeles has always been a common bond,” Canadian Brian Spaven said. “I have no amount of animosity [toward the area]. It’s the way the election went.”
Spaven came on the Thursday ferry for a day trip with a friend.
While Spaven said he was a bit hesitant at first to come to Port Angeles, “to see the welcome committee here brings a really positive feeling.”
Some of the Canadians had tears in their eyes as they disembarked, PAWD executive director Sam Grello said.
While the PAWD traditionally celebrates the return of the Coho whenever it is closed for more than two consecutive weeks, Grello said this year’s celebration gained importance given tariffs levied by the Trump administration and his calls for Canada to become the United States’ 51st state.
“Canada needs to remain Canada,” said Cindy Sofie, a Port Angeles resident whose great grandparents were Canadian.
As the visitors disembarked, music played, flags waived, bells rang and people cheered for their northern neighbors. Some handed the foot passengers welcome cards that apologized for President Donald Trump’s actions and said, “we love our Canadian neighbors!”
In total, 40 foot passengers and 80 cars took the 10:30 a.m. ferry from Victoria to Port Angeles, said Rian Anderson, district manager for the Black Ball Ferry Line. That was pretty comparable to the ferry’s first voyage of the year in both 2023 and 2024, he added.
As the last car disembarked about 12:30 p.m., members of the crowd slowly started to drift away.
Doyle said she hopes the celebration sent a message that “people, as a whole, support Canada.”
“If we can come together for this, we can show people we can come together for bigger problems,” Bradley said.
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Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
Part of a group of nearly 200 people welcome Canadian passengers on the MV Coho as it arrives in Port Angeles from Victoria on Thursday. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
A passenger in a car arriving by ferry in Port Angeles on Thursday waves a Canada shirt as it clears U.S. customs in Port Angeles. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
