You could call it an invasion party.

Or at least that’s what it turned into after about 1,500 Americans taking part in an annual rafting event on the St. Clair River found themselves swept across the river to Canadian shores on Sunday.

“The first thing I thought was that this is exactly what will happen when Donald Trump will be elected: It’s good practice,” joked Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley, who watched the incident unfold from his waterfront property.

“This could be the start of many people trying to cross the boarder into Canada . . . but it was just a big party crowd.”

Michigan’s annual Port Huron Float Down is a tradition that attracts thousands of participants who float 13 km down the river that divides Michigan and Ontario on rafts and store-bought inflatables. This year, an estimated 3,000 took to the water.

The unsanctioned event started around 1 p.m. at Lighthouse (Conger) Beach in Port Huron, Mich. By 4 p.m., hundreds of people had cleared the international Blue Water Bridge and found themselves headed to the Canadian side, breaking a golden rule of the loosely organized event: DON’T LAND IN CANADA.

“Most people (who) are hopping in have no idea what they’re doing,” said Peter Garapick, a Superintendent of Search and Rescue with the Canadian Coast Guard, who was on hand Sunday to help get the Americans out of the water.

“They get in blow-up toys with a cooler of alcohol, no sunscreen, water, dry clothing or ID,” he continued. “We had 1,500 people on floatable devices and they weren’t prepared for it.”

Garapick said the hundreds of floaters who invaded Canada were caught up in the currents or blown ashore by winds believed to be gushing up to 40 km/h, landing at Front and George Sts. in Sarnia.

Some were singing the Canadian anthem as they were rescued by officials, he said.

Arianna Mahon, an 18-year-old Port Huron resident (who said she and her friends were not drinking that day), was among those swept across the river into Canada. She described the scene on foreign soil as chaotic and stressful, but added that “a lot of cops were very polite. Very, very polite.”

“It was freezing cold. We were just in our swimsuits, I didn’t even have shoes,” she told the Star. “It was amazing (hospitality). Some people from the Tim Horton’s came and they were even giving us coffee.”

Emergency officials say this was the first time Americans were blown over during the float at such a high volume.

Police organized the crowds at Ferry Dock Hill before Sarnia Transit took the U.S. citizens back over the Blue Water Bridge to the American side of the border by the busload.

“The majority of (Americans) were in really good spirits,” said Sarnia Constable John Sottosanti, before quickly adding that responders were dealing with “a lot of intoxicated people.”

“Some of them had been drinking quite a bit, so that was a concern (and) why we wanted to get them out of the water,” said Sottosanti. “If you’re intoxicated, you may not know when hypothermia will kick in.”

There were no charges laid, no missing persons reported, no arrests and no major injuries. Over 100 rescue workers with agencies on both sides of the border worked to help rafters to get back to where they came from.

On Americans waters, The Times Herald reported that the U.S. Coast Guard also saved 40 lives and assisted 125 people back to shore. Port Huron Police confirmed they towed “hundreds and hundreds” of floaters to the American side of the river.

“But it didn’t seem to bother (you Canadians) too much, did it?” laughed Port Huron Police Chief Michael Reaves, director of public safety.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

If there’s ever a wind blowing in the other direction, he added, Canadians were welcome to “come by and say hello . . . . We’re appreciative of the Canadian hospitality.”

He also apologized for the mess the Americans left behind, as Sarnia Parks and Recreation was left to pick up the remnants of the rescue along the waterfront: beer cans, coolers, deflated floating devices and even picnic tables.

“There was a lot of stuff left behind and washed up on shore,” said Sottosanti.

But at the end of the day, Bradley was proud that first responders “took a typical Canadian approach.

“Welcome to Canada, behave yourself, we’ll take care of you, but we’re sending you back home.”