Trump’s tariff threat has spooked travellers.
“I would say anyone who’s planning on going to the States as a trip is probably going to pull it,” said Jayde Finkbeiner, owner of Heartland International Travel and Tours, on Monday. “I can’t see why not, when you’re going to be paying double for everything.”
Finkbeiner said the threat of a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, and the effect it would have on the dollar, creates a financial disincentive for Canadians looking at a trip to the U.S.
The threat of a 25 per cent tariff on Canadian goods, and the effect it would have on the dollar, is creating a financial disincentive for Canadians looking at a trip to the U.S., said Jayde Finkbeiner, owner of Heartland International Travel and Tours.
The Canadian dollar was trading at 68.13 cents US Friday, the lowest it had been since 2003. It climbed slightly after Mexico negotiated a one-month delay on the planned tariffs Monday morning. It closed Monday at 68.48 cents US.
In the afternoon, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced U.S. President Donald Trump had decided on a 30-day pause on tariffs on Canada, following a phone call between the two leaders. The tariffs had been scheduled to take effect Tuesday.
Finkbeiner said the spectre of economic uncertainty has already resulted in clients reconsidering travel. A Winnipeg couple called her on the weekend to cancel their trip to Churchill out of concern the economy would be thrust into upheaval if tariffs were unleashed.
“It’s definitely made people second-guess everything they’re doing right now,” she said.
She noted the uncertainty might be a boon for the local tourism industry if it results in more Manitobans staying home or more Americans travelling to Canada.
Premier Wab Kinew echoed that sentiment in January during a premiers meeting in Ottawa, when he called on Canadians to use discretion “into your decisions about where to take your vacations this summer” and gave an open invitation to any American thinking of visiting.
“Manitoba is beautiful in the summertime,” he joked at the time.
Travel Manitoba figures show U.S. visitors entered Manitoba 260,657 times from January to September 2024, the most recent data available. In most months, there was a higher number of American visitors than the same month one year earlier.
In the first quarter of 2024, there were 5,935 direct flights from the U.S. to Manitoba, a 59 per cent increase from the same quarter in 2023.
Colin Ferguson, the president and CEO of Travel Manitoba, said it’s uncertain how the dispute will affect travel to and from Manitoba.
“This is a period of some uncertainty and it is too early to understand all the impacts these tariffs will have on Manitoba’s tourism industry, which is dominated by small and medium-business,” he said in an emailed statement.
“These tariffs are very harmful, and I think it’s up to every individual how they want to address it.”– Jacob Wesoky, Democrats Abroad Canada executive vice-chairman
“What I can say is that now, more than ever, as we are being encouraged to shop local, there are so many incredible places to visit and stay across our province, from day trips to weekend adventures to world-class bucket-list experiences.”
Georganne Burke, a dual-citizen who lives in Ottawa and is involved in the Republicans Overseas Canada group, dismissed the tariff threat as “bluster and nonsense.” Currently in Florida visiting family, she said fellow Canadians abroad haven’t expressed any concern about returning to the U.S.
“Are they talking about not coming back here? No. The only thing that bothers them is the value of the Canadian dollar, which can be pinned directly on this utter freak-out nonsense that we’re seeing about the whole situation that we’re in right now with the U.S.,” she said. “We did not have to be here.”
Democrats Abroad Canada executive vice-chairman Jacob Wesoky, who lives in Montreal, said any tariffs that could be placed on Manitoba would be harmful on both sides of the border.
“I know that (travel) is a concern that a lot that people are having, and a lot of these concerns are valid… These tariffs are very harmful, and I think it’s up to every individual how they want to address it, if they want to change their plans, but we are firmly against these tariffs.”
malak.abas@freepress.mb.ca
Malak Abas
Reporter
Malak Abas is a city reporter at the Free Press. Born and raised in Winnipeg’s North End, she led the campus paper at the University of Manitoba before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Malak.
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