New England governors say tariffs and anti-Canadian rhetoric by the United States government is taking a bite out of tourism, with some states seeing a drop of up to 60 per cent in visitors from north of the border.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey said Canadian tourism to her state and others such as Maine, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont is down between 20 and 60 per cent compared with 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.
“But there are real concerns about travelling to the United States, and safety concerns … and what might happen in terms of border activity.”
Delegations from Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador travelled to Boston at Healey’s invitation. Representatives from Maine, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Connecticut and New Hampshire attended as well.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills said the meeting was a chance for the leaders to forge stronger ties and continue building relationships in the face of “dangerous rhetoric coming from Washington.”
Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston said everyone is trying to deal with a situation that was “thrust” upon them.
“Nobody here created this situation … this divide between our countries,” he said. “And Canadians, you know when they hear the talk of the 51st state stuff, we’re pretty ticked off about that. It kind of makes us really, really upset.”
United States President Donald Trump has said he wants to make Canada the “51st state” and that he would use economic coercion to achieve it. Trump has imposed sweeping tariffs on Canadian goods, including on steel and aluminum.
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Mills said Maine’s tourism industry depends “a lot” on Canada with at least one million Canadians visiting the state every year.
“I understand the hostility that people in…
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