Canadians put off by Trump’s bluster and border arrests are booking far fewer US visits

By ROB GILLIES and JIM MORRIS Associated Press VANCOUVER British Columbia AP Diana and Rick Bellamy initially planned to take a Caribbean cruise out of Houston before heading to Laurel Mississippi to visit the home of one of their favorite HGTV shows Home Town The Calgary couple scrapped those plans and vacationed last month along Mexico s Pacific coast instead put off by U S President Donald Trump s deal war with Canada the insults he s hurled at their homeland and stories about American dividing line agents searching people s phones and detaining foreigners for minor reasons She ascertained it ironic that she felt more calm traveling to Mexico than the U S I never thought I would hear myself say that Diane Bellamy noted Trump s attacks on Canada s business sector and threats to make it the st state have infuriated Canadians who are canceling trips to the U S in big numbers They also seem to have also flipped the narrative heading into Canada s parliamentary elections on Monday with Prime Minister Mark Carney s Liberal Party surging after trailing far behind in the polls just a inadequate months ago A steep decline The U S gets more visitors from Canada each year than from any other country according to the U S Progress Association an industry exchange group which stated the million visits from Canada last year generated billion in spending But there has been a big drop in foreigners traveling to the U S since Trump took office and Canadians are no exception There were more than fewer land limit crossings from Canada into the U S last month than in March of a more than drop according to U S Customs and Dividing line Protection evidence An Air Canada spokesman meanwhile disclosed Canada-U S flight bookings for April through September are down about Trump brushed aside the decline in tourism to the United States on Wednesday saying There s a little nationalism there I guess perhaps It s not a big deal Traveler worries Since Trump started his second term there have been well-publicized reports of tourists being stopped at U S margin crossings and held for weeks at immigration detention facilities before being allowed to fly home at their own expense On March Canadian Jasmine Mooney an actor and entrepreneur on a U S work visa was detained by U S frontier agents in San Diego She was disclosed after days detention Before Mooney s release British Columbia Premier David Eby expressed concern saying It certainly reinforces anxiety that multiple Canadians have about our relationship with the U S right now and the unpredictability of this administration and its actions The Canadian Association of University Teachers which represents faculty and staff at Canadian universities warned its members against nonessential progress to the U S due to the political landscape under Trump and reports of Canadians encountering difficulties transiting the boundary Academics who have expressed negative views about the Trump administration should be particularly cautious about traveling to the U S mentioned the group People are scared to cross the margin I don t know what Americans are thinking quite frankly Are they that oblivious mentioned former Quebec Premier Jean Charest who has family in Florida Mike Sauer who runs a society policing center in Vancouver reported he and his partner have no interest in traveling to the U S now because of Trump s politics and dividing line fears One of Sauer s concerns is that if a limit guard were to check his cellphone the guard might see his past purchases of marijuana which is legal to buy in Canada and about half the states but is still illegal under U S federal law The States have a different view on drugs They could certainly look at my phone and see I m -friendly he reported meaning he s marijuana-friendly I think it kind of depends on which boundary guard would have a dilemma with that and which ones wouldn t Dietra Wilson reported when she was younger she often visited Detroit which is just across the confines from Windsor Ontario where she and her husband Ben own a secondhand shop She hasn t visited much in newest years though and she revealed she s heard of people s worries about journeying the perimeter since Trump moved back into the White House It s worrisome she stated Ben Wilson also has qualms about trying to cross Why would I want to he noted Regardless of the tariffs if I m going to be stopped at the boundary for my phone or something somebody texted me why go Industry worries The drop in Canadian tourism to the U S led California Gov Gavin Newsom a frequent target of Trump to announce an ad campaign this month meant to lure Canadians back to his state citing a year-on-year drop in February McKenzie McMillan a consultant with a Vancouver-based journey agency The Expedition Group revealed the company s bookings to the U S have dried up We have seen a near-total collapse of U S business he mentioned Presumably about a drop since February Lesley Keyter the CEO and founder of the Movement Lady agency in Calgary revealed she s seen people authentically forfeit money to cancel their U S trips Even if they re going on a Caribbean cruise they don t want to go down to Fort Lauderdale to get on the cruise ship she disclosed Gillies published from Toronto Associated Press reporter Corey Williams in Windsor Ontario contributed to this analysis