As Canadian tourism to the US plummets due to politics, local officials are fighting back with a message of love and friendship
From New York to California, American tourism officials have a message for Canadian tourists: they’re a long way from Washington, both physically and philosophically.
In the Adirondacks, local governments have been passing resolutions supporting the idea that “friendship between Canadian and Adirondack communities has fostered mutual prosperity and cultural exchange for generations.”
According to an update from the Regional Office of Sustainable Tourism, businesses are flying Canadian flags and posting bilingual signage to show their support of the Canadian people.
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“We recognize that proposed and impending policy has created unease among Canadians,” said ROOST CEO Dan Kelleher. “As a result, the Adirondack region is experiencing a reduction in border traffic from the local Canadian provinces.” The local resolution “reaffirms our region’s commitment toward maintaining and supporting the area’s positive relationship with our neighbors to the north.”
After being slapped with tariffs by President Trump and mockingly referred to as America’s “51st state,” many Canadians vowed to spend their vacation dollars elsewhere. As the summer season approaches, the numbers show they are following through on their resolve.
Canadian tourism in California was down 12% in February over February 2024, the first decline since the pandemic, according to the governor’s office. The U.S. Travel Association said earlier this year that even a 10 percent reduction in tourism from Canada could cost 140,000 jobs and $2.1 billion in lost spending.
According to U.S. Customs, border crossings on the ground were down by 1 million travelers in March. Similarly, Statistics Canada reported a 13% decline in cross border flights in March.
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According to ROOST, 85% of Canadians live within 300 miles of the border, making it easy for them to travel to the states. Tourism officials and businesses tied to travel hope this familiarity will win out over politics.
Franklin County Board Chair Ed Lockwood explained that the US-Canadian relationship has always been strong, with travel across the border very common. “We want Canadians to know that they are always welcome here,” Lockwood said. “When Canadians visit the Adirondacks, they’re returning to a place that feels familiar. We always want them to feel that this region remains their home away from home.”
Kelleher said that the Adirondack forests can also be a good spot to “unplug” from political anxiety.
“Wilderness can be a natural remedy to the dynamic state of affairs — the Adirondack region and its communities can offer an escape,” he said. “Regardless of political tension, our communities remain committed to ensuring that Canadians seeking an Adirondack getaway will continue to feel welcome.”
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Photo at top: Romano’s Saranac Lanes, a bowling alley and sports bar in Saranac Lake, is flying its Canadian flag as a welcoming gesture towards Canadians. Photo by Mike Lynch
Keeping up with changes happening in Washington
Learn how Adirondack communities, environmental organizations, and individuals are impacted by changes in federal policies.
I LIVE IN WESTERN NEW YORK STATE. I COME TO THE ADK 3 TO 4 TIMES A YEAR. I LOVE COMING TO THE ADK . I DO NOT SEE ADIRONDACK TOURISM OFFICIALS REACHING OUT TO OUR AREA . MOST PEOPLE I TALK TO IN OUR AREA REALLY DON”T KNOW MUCH ABOUT WHAT THE ADK HAS TO OFFER. HOW ABOUT REACH OUT TO OUR AREA AS WELL AS CANADA. JUST A THOUGHT.
It looks like 88-87% of the Canadian tourists are sticking with it, so we should be able to convince the 12-13% that we are still a good place to visit. Also, let’s spend more time visiting canada, I have not seen any animosity in my Canadians friends that I have talked with. When there is a trade issue like we have now, money flows into US assets as a safe haven so in a trade war, the US is hurt a little and Canada is hurt a lot so we should try to help them out.
“When there is a trade issue like we have now, money flows into US assets as a safe haven so in a trade war,….”
Safe haven? Actually, tariffs have contributed to a loss of foreign investor confidence in the U.S. as a safe haven by introducing policy uncertainty, market volatility, and concerns over the stability of U.S. economic leadership.
It’s really a shame we have to go to such great lengths to counter the damage our own president is doing to our valuable trading partner Canada with his wacky, on again-off again tariffs and his constant belittling of a close ally.
I will admit I am not a full professor of international politics. I do see the tags on many consumer goods say Made in China, Taiwan, Mexico, Malaysia, etc. Why is that? Wage scale is probably a big part of that. Maybe some other countries subsidize their manufacturing to win trade competition? So we have less and less made in the USA. Shouldn’t we attempt to turn that around some to keep American workers employed? Keep our industrial base going? We have no commercial ship building in America to speak of. We can’t hardly make our own warships, ice breakers. Cheaper to let other countries do that, but who controls those companies making our goods? Yes, I think it will be painful initially when consumers have to pay more everyday goods. Eventually that will begin to put American factories back producing. We have it easy for a long time. There will be days of reckoning but always remember foreign countries do everything for their own benefit. Not the USA. So no surprise we should do the same.
As long as there are no stipulations to the tax breaks given to corporations each year there is no incentive for them to build factories in the US when they can build them cheaper [and hire cheaper workers] in other countries. If this administration was serious about companies bringing back factories they would have to do two things: (1) charge much higher taxes to those companies who currently operate out of the country and (2) make any future tax cuts to them with the stipulation that they must reinvest in building companies here in the US. Anything short of that is just placating the rest of us that companies are coming back here. In the meantime, we, the consumers, are being taxed much more for goods coming from other countries…”tariffs” are just another word for “tax” (Amazon was planning on showing consumers how much the tariff/tax was being tacked on to items being purchased…the administration stopped that immediately, hoping consumers won’t notice the higher prices…they think/hope we’re all stupid/schmucks). And currently, most of the goods the average person purchases comes from China so we’re all paying 20% more, whether we like it or not. Lastly, Americans aren’t raising their children to work in factories so these companies are going to have to pay more than a decent wage as an incentive (same with raising kids to work in fields picking our fruits and veggies…not many kids see that as a future career and getting rid of all the workers who were willing to do that backbreaking work will be reflected in much higher prices at the grocery store…but that’s another story).
In March 2025, there were 449,000 manufacturing job openings in the U.S. This is a slight increase from the revised 445,000 in February. The labor market is still tight, with more open positions than unemployed workers. Proof that we can’t even staff the existing manufacturing jobs we have let alone trying to bring more of those jobs back from overseas. There is constant demand for factory works in the United States likely due to rajor thin margins and prevailing low wages for workers. It doesn’t take a lot of research to draw the conclusion that the United States cannot complete in the manufacturing sector with our cost of living. We should be looking to new technology and not politicize the electric vehicle and green energy markets. China is cleaning up in those fields. You don’t have to like the product to sell it and the rest of the world offers significant demand.
“Shouldn’t we attempt to turn that around some to keep American workers employed?”
If we need manufacturing jobs so much, why are there so many current vacancies? Currently, there are approximately 456,000 to 482,000 unfilled manufacturing jobs in the U.S. as of early 2025, based on Department of Labor reports and industry data.
It’s pretty simple. Most young people don’t want to work with their hands. More interested in sitting in a chair all day . This is the first time I’ve said that
That is an outright lie. These jobs do not pay a competitive wage. People don’t want to work these manufacturing jobs because they can sell their labor for more elsewhere. As several people have pointed out, there are close to half a million open manufacturing positions in the United States. If you feel so strongly about this sector, why don’t you fill one of these jobs? Take a pay cut for your country, but please don’t expect the government to support your new lower income with any sort of medical safety net. Have we lost our ability to consume data to form a conclusion based on facts?
This is capitalism, winner take all. Follow the money, not the culture war distractions that they use to get you to tune in; ironically so they can show you advertisement so you can consume more.
You don’t know me. I’m 71. I did work for over 50 years busting my back and never made over 40 thousand dollars a year. Did what I had to do to make a living . Keep your disrespectful comments to your self. First time I said this
I didn’t insult an entire generation based on a hunch. I presented a logical explanation.
Also your 40k in 1975 is the equivalent of around 235k today. You have no idea how stretched the working class is today. The cost of a home, insurance, the disappearance of unions, pensions and next the insolvency of social security. These things once attainable on a modest income are reserved for those with generational wealth. The American dream is dead and some of us are cheering it on with tax breaks for the ultra wealthy and the erosion of services for the middle class. Your 40k salary had significantly more buying power than the average American today. Inflation has significantly outpaced wages, CEO salaries have ballooned, corporate tax rates are lower than ever but wages for the middle class continue to slide in terms of buying power. Yet here we are questioning why someone can’t get buy on the same salary as you 25 or 30 years ago. Stop and think about that.