The owner of an East Grand Forks business says the drop in the amount of Canadian travellers stopping in at his and other area businesses has been significant, while numbers confirm fewer Canadians are travelling south of the border.
“Yes we have seen a decline for the last couple of years, and it’s unfortunate,” said Casey Morin, the owner of the Blue Moose Bar and Grill in East Grand Forks, Minn.
“We would love for them to come back.”
The bottom lines of many businesses across Minnesota and North Dakota have been hit by the drop in visits, according to Morin.
“I get really excited when we have a Canadian because I feel like we haven’t seen them a lot, so I try to make a point of telling them that we want them to keep coming back and bring their friends because a huge part of our business is Canadians travelling down.”
According to data released last month by Statistics Canada, Canadian-resident return trips from the U.S. were down nearly 30 per cent in August this year compared to August 2024.
(Submitted by University of Manitoba )
Lori Wilkinson, the Canada Research Chair in migration futures and a professor of sociology at the University of Manitoba, said there are several factors leading to fewer Canadians travelling to the U.S., including the messages coming from President Donald Trump and his administration.
“A lot of Canadians don’t wish to travel to the United States because they don’t feel as welcome there any longer, and they are also very upset about the rhetoric that is coming out of the American government,” Wilkinson said.
When Trump made calls for Canada to become a 51st state soon after his election victory, it struck a nerve with a lot of Canadians, Wilkinson said.
“I think the average Canadian feels disappointed but also angry,” she said.
“The threat of annexation, that’s not a joking matter because countries are under the threat of annexation now and have been in the past, so it’s deeply offensive.”
(Ron Boileau/SRC)
Financial constraints, along with the unfavourable exchange rate, are also contributing to the reduction in Canadians heading to the U.S., Wilkinson said.
“The cost of living right now is pricing people out of travel, period,” she said. “But I think more realistically, the cost of fuel and the cost if you’re going to fly, all of those costs have increased.”
Winnipegger Simon Hallick agrees, saying “it’s more expensive than shopping in Canada now.”
Philbert Furere, another Winnipegger, said he doesn’t feel comfortable travelling to the U.S.
“I don’t want to travel to the U.S because of their politics,” he said.
“It’s really scary because for me, as a minority, I feel like I can be arrested anytime and disappear.”