# Should the U.S. give Pt. Roberts to Canada? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [February 9, 2003, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930 "2003-02-09T19:31:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 27, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/61 "2020-11-27T19:37:53Z")
> [@eponymous](#): > > I’ve actually been to Pt. Roberts myself. Personally, I think it’s kind of neat that there’s a place in the US (along with the Northwest Angle of Minnesota) that the only way one can get to it by land is by first going through another country. But I guess I’m a geek when it comes to such geographic oddities The one I’m most familiar with is Alburgh “Island” in Vermont. Alburgh is distinct from the other Vermont islands in Lake Champlain in that it’s not actually an island. It’s a peninsula cut off by the Canadian border. Admittedly, Alburgh isn’t as isolated as Point Roberts or the Northwest Angle. It’s physically close enough to New York and the rest of Vermont that it is connected by bridges. Just to the east of Alburgh peninsula is [Province Point](https://www.google.com/maps/place/Vermont/@45.0127647,-73.1938559,289m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m5!3m4!1s0x4cb4dc6c48daceff:0x264d897436546bb4!8m2!3d44.5588028!4d-72.5778415), which I believe is the smallest American exclave. It’s a uninhabited bit of land (only two acres) which pokes south of the border. ---
**Author:** ![Kropotkin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kropotkin/32/18045_2.png) [@Kropotkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kropotkin)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/62 "2020-11-28T02:31:44Z")
I think we in Canada should swap Alberta for Point Roberts. If the Robertsians object, the US can have Alberta free, no charge, and gratis, except for the wall around it. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/63 "2020-11-28T23:02:05Z")
Which Mexico will pay for. By the way @elbows, there are two islands, St. Pierre and Miquelon. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [November 28, 2020, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/64 "2020-11-28T23:19:16Z")
Who the hell is Private Roberts, and why does Canada want him? ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/65 "2020-11-29T02:49:59Z")
Well, one thing has changed for the better in Pt. Roberts in the 17 years since this thread started - [the gas station sells pizza now.](https://pointrobertsshellcenter.com/food-drinks-more/) ---
**Author:** ![Buck\_Godot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/buck_godot/32/6573_2.png) [@Buck\_Godot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Buck_Godot)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/66 "2020-11-29T07:50:26Z")
Does Canada have anything the Denmark wants? Maybe we can work a three-way swap and get Greenland out of the deal. ---
**Author:** ![ctnguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@ctnguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ctnguy)\ **Post date:** [November 29, 2020, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/67 "2020-11-29T08:13:58Z")
Denmark wants Hans Island which Canada also claims. But Denmark claims it by virtue of their sovereignty over Greenland, so it wouldn’t really work for your three-way swap. > **[Hans Island | History and disputed sovereignty](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Island#History_and_disputed_sovereignty)** > > The conflict over the island, known as the Whisky War, has been alternately described as "one of the most passive-aggressive boundary disputes in history" and "the friendliest war." ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/68 "2020-11-30T01:33:25Z")
All joking aside, Point Roberts is really struggling due to the border closure with Canada, as this article from September indicates: > **[Birth of a ghost town: U.S. border community has lost 80% of its business,...](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/point-roberts-covid-1.5740806)** > > In a normal year, Point Roberts, Wash., is a bustling place during the summer season, packed with B.C. tourists ready to spend their money on local businesses, B.C. bargain hunters filling up on gas and picking up packages at the local parcel shops. > [@](#): > > But now, he said Point Roberts is on the brink of collapse, having lost more than 80 per cent of its business, all from Canadians, according to the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University. > … > Month by month, he said, the community continues to crumble. Businesses have shuttered, most kids have left either to the U.S. mainland or to B.C. to continue their education, and people are fleeing because jobs aren’t just scarce, they’re non-existent. > > “For people who don’t have independent wealth, it’s devastating. What do they do? There are no jobs. None. Not one job. Not even handyman stuff,” said Calder. > > On-season, Point Roberts hosts up to 6,000 people, which drops to about 1,250 in the off-season. And since the closure of the border, he estimates there are now between 800 and 900 people left. > > Right now, there are five gas stations to serve fewer than 1,000 people, one grocery store that, at its peak, would serve 5,000 customers a day, an empty marina, many closed businesses including the golf course, one bank that announced it will close in December and one full-time restaurant. > > Every morning, Calder heads over to the Saltwater Cafe for breakfast — Point Roberts’ last restaurant standing — but that’s something that could soon change, too. > … > Even if the borders were to reopen tomorrow, Calder believes the damage has been irreparable and he can’t envision a road to recovery. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2020, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/69 "2020-11-30T19:29:21Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Who the hell is Private Roberts, and why does Canada want him? When he emigrates to Canada, he will be Pt. Roberts. Until then, he is Pvt. Roberts. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/70 "2020-12-01T06:25:30Z")
Nitpick: when he emigrates to Canada, he will be “Pte. Roberts.” ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/71 "2020-12-01T12:48:04Z")
If he’s defecting to Canada, the least they could do is give him a promotion. Then he’d be Cpl Roberts. But get it in writing Roberts! You’ve been in the military long enough to know that if it’s not in writing, then it doesn’t count. ---
**Author:** ![Mk\_VII](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Mk\_VII](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mk_VII)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/72 "2020-12-01T20:02:20Z")
Have Pt Roberts declare war on the US ,so it can lose, and qualify for Marshall Aid. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930/73 "2020-12-01T21:42:24Z")
I dunno. That’s what the Duchy of Grand Fenwick tried, and it didn’t work out that way. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-u-s-give-pt-roberts-to-canada/153930.md?page=3)