The Globe and Mail
· collected 2026-08-28 · by Mike Hager, Jesse Winter
American businesses that rely on Canadian tourism are bracing for a potential decrease in visitors due to the ongoing trade war between the US and Canada. According to Statistics Canada, there was a 5-per-cent year-over-year increase in trips to the US in June, but volumes remain below pre-2017 norms. Mayor Mary Lou Steward of Blaine, Washington, expects a significant drop in Canadian visitors with the new tariffs, citing a 40-per-cent decline in border crossings for shopping and tourism last year. Businesses like Artpark's Dave Wedekindt have already seen a decrease in interest from Canadians, prompting him to give up on advertising shows to his Canadian neighbors for the remainder of the season.
Written by the local model on 2026-08-28,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Concert promoter Dave Wedekindt figured that because Roger Daltrey’s solo tour wasn’t coming to Canada, people living in Southern Ontario might be keen to watch the frontman of the legendary rock band The Who perform at his amphitheatre on the American side of Niagara Falls.
uncertain
frontman → figure → Falls
But Mr. Wedekindt, president of the non-profit running the Artpark, said an ad blitz last week on Facebook targeting Canadians living within 48 kilometres of the Lewiston, N.Y., venue definitely failed.
asserted
blitz → run → venue
User after user replied to the promotion with a polite “No,” stating they aren’t keen to go to the United States.
asserted
they → reply → States
That was before the trade war erupted last Friday with the failure of bilateral negotiations in Washington.
asserted
war → erupt → Washington
Now, Mr. Wedekindt says, he has given up on trying to advertise any shows to his neighbours to the north for the remainder of the season, which runs from May until September.
uncertain
which → say → September
“We’re certainly following all this news here and it’s difficult because we’ve always had such a great Canadian base and they’ve been great patrons and supporters,” he said.
asserted
he → follow → base
American businesses that rely on Canadian tourism and who spoke to The Globe and Mail say it’s too early to see how devastating a full-on trade war will be on their bottom lines.
asserted
war → rely → lines
But they are bracing for fewer visitors after already seeing a drop off last year as the bilateral relationship frayed.
asserted
relationship → brace → drop
The renewed conflict is also expected to halt the rebound of Canadian travel to the U.S.
Last week, Statistics Canada published data showing there was a slight increase of Canadians’ trips south of the border at the start of this summer.
asserted
Canada → renew → summer
In June, the latest month for which data are available, Canadian residents returned from 2.3 million trips to the U.S., marking a 5-per-cent year-over-year increase, Statscan stated.
asserted
Statscan → return → increase
The number of trips increased for the third month in a row after 15 consecutive months of year-over-year declines, although volumes remained well below pretension norms.
asserted
volumes → increase → norms
There were nearly 25-per-cent fewer trips this June than in June, 2024, before U.S. President Donald Trump took office for the second time and began referring to Canada as the “51st state.”
asserted
Trump → be → state
But other public data from Cascade Gateway, which monitors crossing volume and wait-time data for the four border crossings between B.C.’s Lower Mainland and Washington’s Whatcom County, appear to show a slight dip in crossings on Tuesday and Wednesday this week.
asserted
which → monitor → Tuesday
Over all, data for the months of August in 2025 and this year are down significantly from the same month in 2024, before the trade war’s opening salvos a year ago, Cascade’s data show.
asserted
data → show → salvos
Mary Lou Steward, the mayor of Blaine, Wash. – a popular cross-border shopping destination for British Columbians – said she expects that trend to continue.
asserted
trend → say → Columbians
“When the rhetoric and tariffs first came into effect last year, we did see a 40-per-cent decline in border crossing for shopping, tourism and visiting family,” Ms. Steward wrote in an e-mail.
asserted
Steward → come → mail
With the new tariffs, she said she expects “a significant drop in Canadians visiting the U.S.”
asserted
she → say → U.S.
More people could swear off planning American vacations this fall as leaders, such as B.C. Premier David Eby this week, urge Canadians to avoid the U.S. as a way to increase Ottawa’s position in the trade war.
uncertain
leaders → swear → war
Mr. Wedekindt’s conservative estimate is that the decline in cross-border visitors cost his 52-year-old concert facility US$300,000 in the last fiscal year.
asserted
decline → cost → year
Canadians accounted for up to 15 per cent of the venue’s revenue until last year, when tensions increased and Artpark saw that number cut in half and stay there, Mr. Wedekindt said.
asserted
Wedekindt → account → half
“Older audiences are a little more dug in and don’t want to come over or won’t come over,” he said.
asserted
he → dig → ?
The venue has redirected its marketing to upstate New York to lure more people, Mr. Wedekindt said, but even before the latest round of tariffs is expected to raise the cost of everyday life for Americans, it has been difficult because “as consumers, we all feel everything has gone up in price.”
asserted
everything → redirect → price
At the nearby Aquarium of Niagara, in Niagara Falls, N.Y., the number of Canadian patrons was cut in half last year and the home of rescued harbour seals, Humboldt penguins and California sea lions hit a 20-year low in visitors, according to Chad Fifer, president and chief executive of the private non-profit.
uncertain
home → cut → profit
“The overall sentiment for the past year and a half has been tough, mostly because we’ve been bracing for continued decline,” he said.
asserted
he → brace → decline
For Steve Wright, the general manager of Jay Peak Resort in Vermont, the bilateral breakdown of the past week was worrisome enough that he issued his second public appeal in as many years, reminding Canadians “you’re always welcome at Jay.”
asserted
you → issue → Jay
Mr. Wright said Canadians make up half of the resort’s total visitors each year.
asserted
Canadians → say → visitors
While he said the venue hasn’t seen significant cancellations yet, some of its larger Canadian clients with bookings for major events such as conferences and larger ski packages have started to ask questions.
asserted
some → say → questions
“You know, we’ve been through this enough with this administration so that when the narrative starts to escalate relative to the Canadians and Canadian sovereignty, we tend to start to see this, and understandably so,” he said.
asserted
he → know → this
“The border might feel different right now.
uncertain
border → feel → ?
We do not.”
asserted
We → do → ?
