Copyright The Boston Globe
Fresh off her reelection victory, Mayor Michelle Wu will travel to Nova Scotia on Sunday for a three-day trip to meet with local leaders and ceremonially retrieve Boston’s Christmas tree, an annual gift from the Canadian province. Wu plans to travel north from Sunday to Wednesday. The sojourn marks her second international trip as mayor after she traveled to Rome in 2024 to attend a climate conference at the Vatican along with Governor Maura Healey and other Massachusetts leaders. The official purpose for Wu’s upcoming visit is to retrieve the towering Christmas tree that will preside over the Boston Common this holiday season. Since 1971, Nova Scotians have donated an enormous Christmas tree to Boston, a gesture of gratitude for the city’s assistance after a 1917 explosion in Halifax killed 2,000 people and injured 9,000 more. Last year, Boston welcomed a 45-foot white spruce. Wu will be the first Boston mayor to attend and participate in the tree cutting ceremony, the city said. Advertisement “For well over a century, Boston and Nova Scotia have shared a special bond of neighborly care and friendship,” Wu said in a statement. “I’m honored this year to visit our neighbors to the north for the first time and deliver a personal thank you on behalf of the people of Boston for continuing this partnership and connection that transcends boundaries and generations.” The visit also offers Wu an opportunity to boost her profile nationally and internationally, particularly at a time when President Trump is targeting Canada with increased tariffs. Wu has sought to burnish her reputation as an effective leader in the Democratic resistance to Trump, even as she emphasizes that her focus is on Boston and she has “no national ambitions.” Advertisement While in Canada, Wu will meet with and exchange gifts with Halifax Mayor Andy Fillmore and visit Bayview Community School to meet with students. She’ll also stop at the Health Innovation Hub, a research center; the Halifax Port Authority; and the PIER, a “living lab” for the transportation, supply chain, and logistics industries. Wu’s office said her family, including husband Conor Pewarski and their three children, will accompany her to Nova Scotia. With the mayor out of town, Boston City Council President Ruthzee Louijeune, a Wu ally, is expected to serve as acting mayor. Emma Platoff can be reached at emma.platoff@globe.com. Follow her @emmaplatoff.
