Angry Canadians cancel US vacations in attempted protest at Trump tariffs
Canadians are cancelling their trips south of their border amid President Donald Trump's threat to impose 25 percent tariffs.
The United States is the top vacation destination for Canadians and in 2023 more than 25 million trips were made to the United States for work, leisure or shopping.
But tourists choosing to go elsewhere could have a significant economic effect for American states such as Maine, Florida, California and Arizona, all popular with Canadians.
Trump has agreed to hold off imposing tariffs on Canada and Mexico for 30 days, pulling the North American neighbors back from the brink of a potentially damaging trade war, but some of the damage may have already been done.
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had initially announced retaliatory tariffs, and urged residents to buy locally and consider vacationing within their homeland, instead of venturing across to the United States.
His comments appear to have been taken to heart, with several people in multiple cities saying they would do exactly that.
Catherine Ann Marshall and her husband, Mike Manning, from Toronto had been eagerly preparing for a week-long ski trip to the US with their American friends from New Hampshire.
But after watching Trudeau's impassioned speech on Saturday, their plans changed in an instant.
Mike Manning, left, and his wife Catherine Ann Marshall from Toronto had been eagerly preparing for a week-long ski trip to the US with their American friends from New Hampshire
But now the couple are swapping the slopes of New Hampshire to stay in Canada and Mont-Tremblant in Quebec
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had initially announced retaliatory tariffs, and urged Canadians to buy local and consider vacationing within Canada instead of the United States
By Sunday morning, they'd canceled their Air Canada flights and shelved their hotel accommodation to book a new trip closer to home - at Mont-Tremblant in Quebec.
And in a show of solidarity, their American friends decided to come to Canada instead.
'We looked at each other and went, 'We can't go. We can't support what's going on down there and spend money,' Marshall told the Toronto Star. 'We feel really good about the decision and that we were able to pull it off.
'I felt absolutely devastated to realize that the co-operative and neighborly relationship that I've had with Americans my whole life has changed,' Marshall added. 'And depending on how this all plays out, it might be permanently changed.'
The couple are not the only Canadians rethinking trips south of their border and decided to spend their Canadian Dollars closer to home.
Pamela Tennant, who lives in Ontario, had been planning a trip to South Carolina in March but changed her mind, annoyed by the American president's attacks - including his oft-repeated threat to make Canada the 51st US state.
'I'm afraid that Americans will end up believing what Trump says,' she told AFP. 'He considers us a bad neighbor. He tells the whole world that we are bad people and that we have taken advantage of them,' but it is 'all lies.'
British Columbia resident Mike Davies, 64, has been angry since Trump started posting comments on social media about absorbing Canada as the 51st state.
Many Canadians rethinking trips south of their border and decided to spend their Canadian Dollars closer to home. Pictured, Arizona, which may have fewer visiting Canadians this year
Marshall, left, and Manning cancelled ski plans in the US and are now heading to Mont Tremblant
'To have Americans insult Canada has got my back up... I think every Canadian is just disgusted, right? I just think [the tariffs are] treachery,' said Davies, a resident of White Rock, near the US border.
Davies started a Facebook group encouraging people to boycott American goods. He cancelled Netflix and is trying not to use Amazon.
He also ditched plans to visit a friend in North Carolina.
'We're not going to America at all,' he said.
Amra Durakovic, head of communications at Flight Centre Canada, told The Star the travel agency had been flooded with phone calls and in-person visits from Canadians desperate to scrap their US vacations.
'There's a lot of disappointment. There's a lot of sadness. And I think there's a lot of trust that's been broken,' Durakovic said. 'They are most certainly turning their backs on US travel right now.'
