In Canada, Wu helps chop down Boston’s Christmas tree

Local News

Mayor Michelle Wu spent three days in Nova Scotia, saying she wanted to affirm Boston’s relationship with Canada amid antagonism from the Trump administration.

Boston Mayor Michelle Wu returned to the city Wednesday after spending three days in Nova Scotia. While north of the border, Wu engaged with local leaders, met with experts in health care and logistics, and wielded a chainsaw to help cut down the Christmas tree that will stand on Boston Common this holiday season. 

Wu’s trip came just days after officially securing her second term as mayor, running unopposed after chasing rival Josh Kraft from the race earlier this fall. Wu positioned herself as a fierce critic of the Trump administration during her dominant reelection campaign, and the president’s antagonism with Canada colored some of Wu’s messaging during the trip. 

“At a time when the federal regime is making life more difficult for residents in Boston and our neighbors in Canada, it’s important that we make clear where we stand. The people of Boston support our Canadian friends,” Wu wrote in an Instagram post alongside photos of her with Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore. 

Wu met with Fillmore earlier this week, toured a center for health care research, and swung by a “living lab dedicated to transportation, supply chain and logistics industries.” She also participated in the annual Halifax Remembrance Day Ceremony, laying a wreath in honor of fallen soldiers. 

Wu became the first Boston mayor to attend and participate in the “Tree for Boston” tree cutting ceremony in Nova Scotia, according to her office. Each year, Nova Scotia gifts Boston a massive white or red spruce or balsam fir to use as a Christmas tree on the Common. 

In 1917, more than 1,700 people died after two vessels collided in Halifax harbor. One was carrying explosive munitions, and a subsequent blast decimated the city. It was considered to be the worst man-made disaster in history at the time. Boston Mayor James Michael Curley and Gov. Samuel McCall quickly organized a massive relief effort, and Nova Scotia sent a Christmas tree to Boston as a gift the following year. 

It became an annual tradition in 1971. Now, growing the “Tree for Boston” is an honor coveted by Nova Scotia residents who enter submissions every year. This year’s tree is a 45-foot white spruce that was planted more than 40 years ago by a couple who hoped it could eventually be selected for the honor. 

Wu helped cut it down on Wednesday alongside Waddie Long, a local community college instructor who participates in the tree cutting ceremony most years. Long donned a Boston Bruins jersey for the ceremony, despite admitting to The Boston Globe that he is a Montreal Canadiens fan. 

“Today, we’re all Boston fans,” he told the Globe. 

The tree is now on its way to Boston. It is scheduled to arrive in the city on Nov. 18, and the Boston Common tree lighting ceremony is scheduled for Dec. 4. The tree’s journey is normally documented by the Nova Scotia government on social media, but no updates have been posted this year as of Thursday. 

In some of her final remarks in Canada, Wu again sought to reinforce the relationship between Boston and America’s northern neighbor while taking a swipe at the Trump administration. 

“Boston refuses to bow down to chaos and cruelty, even when it’s coming from our own federal government,” she said, per footage from NBC10 Boston. “I wanted to be here to say thank you for continuing this special tradition and I want to affirm how important this friendship is to the people of Boston, no matter what is happening at other levels of government.”