{"id":286617,"date":"2025-11-16T11:11:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-16T11:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/286617\/"},"modified":"2025-11-16T11:11:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-16T11:11:22","slug":"dear-canada-we-miss-you-what-these-u-s-cities-and-states-are-doing-to-woo-canadians-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/286617\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Dear Canada, we miss you’: What these U.S. cities and states are doing to woo Canadians back"},"content":{"rendered":"

Recent data from both sides of the border show that Canadians are travelling to the U.S. in much smaller numbers, thanks to an ongoing trade war, U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s talk of annexation, more intrusive border crossing requirements<\/a> and a weak Canadian dollar.<\/p>\n

But U.S. tourist destinations are fighting back with a variety of schemes to lure Canadians back across the border, either by tugging at their heartstrings or their pursestrings. Here are a few of them.<\/p>\n

\u2018California loves Canada\u2019 ad campaign<\/p>\n

California rolled out an entire \u201cCalifornia Loves Canada\u201d<\/a> campaign, with television ads and a logo featuring a maple leaf in the centre of a heart, superimposed over the state shape.<\/p>\n

One 30-second ad rattles off Canada\u2019s many contributions to Californian culture, including the Walt Disney Concert Hall (designed by Toronto-born Frank Gehry), wine-making \u2014 Signorello Estates in the Napa Valley is owned\u00a0by Canadian-raised dual citizen Ray Signorello Jr.<\/a> \u2014 and the historic Hotel del Coronado, which was designed by New Brunswickers Merritt and James W. Reid<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The ad also notes that Imax is a Canadian company, and that even the California roll was dreamed up by Vancouver sushi chef Hidekazu Tojo.<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

California would like you to visit the Hotel del Coronado, and to know that it was designed by Canadians.<\/p>\n

Maine revamps border crossing signs<\/p>\n

This summer, Maine governor Janet Mills announced new signage<\/a> welcoming Canadians from New Brunswick, Quebec and beyond. The signs feature crossed Canadian and American flags and the message: \u201cBienvenue, Canadiens!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping that we can put out the welcome mat,\u201d she said. \u201cI can\u2019t change the presidency. I can\u2019t change the tariffs. Lord knows I would if I could change the rhetoric and the tariffs, but \u2026 we\u2019re putting out bilingual welcome signs at all 13 border crossings between Maine and Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added that she was planning to make her own road trip to Canada, \u201cto make sure that my message is clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

New York state rolls out savings and TV spots<\/p>\n

The North Country Chamber of Commerce covers northern portions of the state but also says it serves \u201cthe Akwesasne Territory and parts of southern Quebec.\u201d This year it created a \u201ccross-border specials\u201d<\/a>\u00a0campaign that included a \u201cCanadian residents rate\u201d<\/a> at the Bluebird Lake Placid hotel, although both these summer deals have since ended.<\/p>\n

The campaign also featured a TV spot<\/a> (in English) aimed at Quebecers, released at the start of the summer travel season,\u00a0and promising \u201ca getaway that still feels like home.\u201d The ad ends with a woman with a French-Canadian accent saying: \u201cI was going to the U.S., but now I\u2019m going to Plattsburgh and the Adirondack coast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Buffalo Bisons accept Canadian cash at par<\/p>\n

The Buffalo Bisons (also known as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, so there\u2019s a certain logic in their \u201cat par\u201d pricing discount for Canadians.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn appreciation for the great baseball fans of Southern Ontario \u2026 the Bisons continue their efforts to provide the absolute best value to their great fans coming from Canada,\u201d the team said on its website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Canadians with proof of residency get\u00a0a 30 per cent discount, roughly equivalent to the exchange rate on the U.S. dollar.<\/p>\n

Rochester writes: \u2018Dear Canada, we\u2019ve missed you\u2019<\/p>\n

Describing itself as \u201cjust down the QEW and across the border,\u201d the New York city launched a \u201cDear Canada\u201d ad campaign this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve missed you,\u201d the ad states, \u201cYour curiosity, your laughter, your love of a good IPA.\u201d It signs off: \u201cWith love, Rochester.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"<\/p>\n

Kalispell, Flathead Lake and Glacier National Park is seen from a lookout point in Lone Pine State Park, Montana.<\/p>\n

Kalispell creates welcome pass for Canadians<\/p>\n

When locals in this city of 25,000 noticed fewer Canadians arriving from B.C. and Alberta this year, they built an app called the Kalispell Canadian Welcome Pass<\/a>. It can be loaded on a phone and offers discounts to travellers from Canada, including 10 per cent off at the Kalispell Grand Hotel, and two-for-one tickets to the local Glacier Museum of Art.<\/p>\n

According to local reports<\/a>, total border crossings from Canada to Montana fell 26 per cent between August 2024 and August 2025, while the local chamber of commerce noted credit card spending by Canadians in Kalispell had decreased by 39 per cent through the end of September compared to the same period last year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe miss you, Canada,\u201d the city says on its website, adding: \u201cFor the last several months, our countries have been going through some things. But there\u2019s one thing we know and it\u2019s this \u2013 we miss you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Burlington (temporarily) renames one of its streets for Canada<\/p>\n

The city, roughly 65 kilometres from the Canadian border, says a significant portion of summer business, over 15 per cent, is from Canadian tourists.<\/p>\n

When those numbers started dropping this year,\u00a0a group of city councillors<\/a> proposed (temporarily) renaming one of Burlington\u2019s central avenues from Church Street to Canada Street, or Rue Canada.<\/p>\n

Councillor Becca Brown McKnight donned a maple leaf shirt and handed out mini Canadian flags to the other councillors. The motion was passed unanimously.<\/p>\n

A little more than an hour\u2019s drive to the north (and just south of the border with Quebec), Jay Peak ski resort offers an \u201cat par\u201d policy<\/a> for Canadian travellers, with Canadian money accepted at the same rate as American dollars.<\/p>\n

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com<\/a> and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Recent data from both sides of the border show that Canadians are travelling to the U.S. in much…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":286618,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[28625,130064,130061,49,130063,48,3245,130062,4191,44,507],"class_list":["post-286617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-ad-campaign","tag-border-crossing","tag-border-crossings","tag-ca","tag-california-roll","tag-canada","tag-canadian-dollar","tag-canadian-tourists","tag-canadians","tag-news","tag-toronto-blue-jays"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=286617"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/286617\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/286618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=286617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=286617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=286617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}