New Brunswick travellers changing course to avoid U.S. amid tariff threats

Christina Laflamme travels to the United States often. She was born in Florida but has lived in New Brunswick as a dual citizen since the 1990s.

Laflamme's family was planning a trip to see friends in Houlton and Calais, Maine, but "as a result of these tariffs and these concerns, we've decided to stay in Canada."

She is also postponing a trip to Boston for Easter.

"It's very stressful. I didn't vote for Trump. I'm not a very big proponent of the tactics that he's using," Laflamme said.

"I do think he's laying siege to Canada. And although he's saying this is a drug war, I really do think it's a tariff war."

Laflamme is part of a growing number of Canadians who plan to boycott travel to the U.S. over the next four years.

In an online poll of 1,600 Maritime residents, roughly 6 in 10 said they will travel to the U.S. less within the next year. The majority of those polled said that was because of dissatisfaction with Trump's leadership and safety concerns, including fear of violence, crime, gun culture and public unrest. 

The poll was done on Jan. 30 and 31 by the Canadian polling company, Narrative Research. The margin of error is plus or minus 2.4 percentage points, with a confidence level of 95 per cent.  

Erin Lanigan said tariff threats from the U.S. "certainly gets the nerves going a little bit."

She's on her way to Orlando, Fla., this week for what she calls a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disney World with her family, something they have already paid for. 

"We're still going to go," she said. "It was my daughter's Christmas present. We can't really cancel it now so we're just going to go and hope for the best."

If they had known they would be traveling to the U.S. during increased tensions between the two countries, she said they "would have delayed until things were a little more settled and secure."

Some travellers worried

Natalie Forrest, owner of Marlin Travel, which has offices in Miramichi and Fredericton, said she has talked with a lot of people that have been in "panic mode" since last week.

"I've already had people cancel just in the last 48 hours that were already booked to go to Florida," Forrest said. "They just want to stay away from it. If things work out, great, they'll rebook. But right now they're cancelling."

She said people are making their decisions based on principle.

"We are proud Canadians and most of us are quite cautious how and where we spend our money. And to be labelled the way that Donald Trump has us right now, I think is really taking people back."

U.S. bracing for Canadian drop-off

The U.S. Travel Association, a non-profit organization representing the travel industry, is now bracing for the impact of those shifting habits. 

In a release this week, it said Canadians are the top international visitors to the United States, with more than 20 million visits last year. It said a 10 per cent reduction in Canadian travel could mean two million fewer visits, $2.1 billion in lost spending, and 14,000 job losses.

The top five most visited states by Canadians were Florida, California, Nevada, New York and Texas. 

Forrest said she was in Las Vegas last week and felt a lot of anxiety while she was there.

"Some of the conversations that we had with the locals, taxi drivers, people who work in the tourism industry, they're almost laughing about everything going on," she said. 

"They think it's really cool that we could possibly be a 51st state and [are] just sort of laughing it off."

Forrest said Canadians are known as friendly people and "the moment you say you're Canadian, the first thing people say is, 'Oh, we love Canadians.'" But Canadians also want to be with people where that respect is shared, she said.

She thinks prices will come down for flights and hotels in the U.S. to make it more attractive to Canadians. And she has some advice for travellers when that happens. 

"That's where Canadians need to stand strong and realize, we can't be purchased just because you are lowering the price. It's on principle, and I hope that that's what people will follow."

Forrest said people are still going to travel, but will look more to Europe and Asia, and she hopes more people will travel in Canada, as well. 

Angela Hicks is looking to stay close to home.

She has cancelled her trip to the U.S. in July, because of the "fear of the unknown."

"It's the uncertainty with everything. We don't know what's going to happen in 30 days. You know things will be reevaluated but who's to say what's going to happen?"

It's not a risk she's willing to take, especially with her children, she said. 

"We'll just stay in New Brunswick."