Winnipeg councillor cancels U.S. trip to 'send a message' about trade war

A Winnipeg city councillor is scrapping a planned trip to the U.S. for spring break, while others say they plan to go through with previously scheduled trips.

Coun. Cindy Gilroy (Daniel McIntyre) says she and her husband were supposed to visit Arizona, but she's now looking at Canadian destinations due to the ongoing trade war.

"We want to send a message to the federal government in the U.S. and also a message to U.S. citizens to really push their governments that this is not how you treat friends, this is not how you treat allies, and this is not how you treat people that are your neighbours," Gilroy said.

The imposition of tariffs on Canadian imports to the United States and repeated calls from President Donald Trump to make Canada the 51st state have sparked a backlash among many Canadian travellers. 

Data released by Statistics Canada on Monday shows that the number of return trips among Canadians travelling by car to the U.S. declined significantly in February, down 23 per cent compared with a year earlier.

Gilroy encouraged others to follow her example and avoid travelling to the U.S.

"I know that lots of people are trying to buy Canadian and buy local. I think that if we send this message, I'm loud and clear, people will hear it."

Other councillors told CBC News they will go through with previously scheduled trips during the upcoming spring break.

Coun. Jeff Browaty (North Kildonan) has non-refundable tickets to Nashville to attend a friend's wedding, but he says he won't be making any other trips south of the border for the foreseeable future.

Browaty says he has been travelling to the U.S. since he was a child, often going to Fargo, N.D. with his parents on shopping trips.

"But with the combination of both, the political hostilities and the poor Canadian dollar, that is certainly not where we're looking at going these days," Browaty said. "If anything, you know, looking at Labour Day weekend, maybe it's time to go hit up Regina and hit the Labour Day classic."

Coun. Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River) is going to a business conference in Dallas, Texas the same week that Browaty is flying down to Nashville, but he doesn't expect to make any personal trips to U.S. anytime soon.

During Trump's first term in office, "I didn't go to the states at all," Chambers said. "And I don't plan on any vacations to the states within this next four years."

Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) recently returned from an arm-wrestling competition in Columbus, Ohio. She was struck by the huge difference in the currency exchange rate. An Uber ride that cost $34.62 US came to $51.36 on her Canadian credit card.

Coun. Sherri Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry) has relatives who live in the U.S., and said her son plans to attend a leadership conference in New Jersey. She says despite the current tensions between the two countries, she's confident the relationship will endure.

"You can be concerned, but the ties between Canada and the United States run so much deeper than any one trade agreement," she said.

"It's really the partnerships, the centuries we have of the shared history, the family connections and the cultural exchanges. Those are what transcend borders, and those are what strengthens the relationship that we — that many of us, so many of us — have."

A spokesperson for Mayor Scott Gillingham said he doesn't discuss travel plans for safety reasons, but he has no plans to visit the U.S.