Governors in New England say that tariffs and anti-Canadian rhetoric from the US government are hurting tourism, with some states seeing a 60% drop in visitors from north of the border. Gov. of Massachusetts According to Maura Healey, Canadian visitors to her state, as well as to Maine, New York, Rhode Island, and Vermont, are down between 20% and 60% from last year. “We have seen impacts that you can’t quite put a price on,” she told reporters Monday in Boston, following a meeting between New England governors and premiers from Eastern Canada.
“However, there are real concerns about traveling to the United States, safety concerns, and what might happen at the border.” At Healey’s invitation, delegations from Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador visited Boston. In addition, there were representatives from Maine, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut, and New Hampshire. In the face of the “dangerous rhetoric coming from Washington,” according to Janet Mills, the meeting was an opportunity for the leaders to forge stronger ties and continue building relationships. Tim Houston, the premier of Nova Scotia, stated that everyone is attempting to deal with a circumstance that was “thrust” upon them. He stated, “Nobody here caused this situation… this divide between our countries.” “And Canadians, you know, we’re pretty irritated about that when they hear about the 51st state. We’re kind of really, really upset about it. Maine Gov. In the face of the “dangerous rhetoric coming from Washington,” according to Janet Mills, the meeting was an opportunity for the leaders to forge stronger ties and continue building relationships. Tim Houston, the premier of Nova Scotia, stated that everyone is attempting to deal with a circumstance that was “thrust” upon them. “Nobody here created this situation … this divide between our countries,” he said. “And Canadians, you know, we’re pretty irritated about that when they hear about the 51st state. It kind of makes us really, really upset.” Mills stated that Canada is “very important” to Maine’s tourism industry because at least one million Canadians visit the state annually. I understand the hostility that people in Canada must feel from that rhetoric. I feel that too. It hurts us all, and we want Canadian citizens to know that we want them to come…. She stated, “We want Maineans to travel to Canada as well.” “That relationship is the most important thing to us.” According to Mills, tourism went down by about 26% between February and April. They are less affected by the tariffs than they are by the loss of Canadian pride. And boy, do I comprehend that. According to Healey, Massachusetts anticipates a 20% decline in Canadian tourists this year. According to Vermont, credit card spending and hotel reservations by Canadians decreased by 36% and 45%, respectively, in the early part of the year. She stated that reservations made by Canadians have decreased by 45% in New York City thus far.
Drop in Canadian tourists hurting U.S., northeast governors tell premiers
