Canada
Newsom urges Canadians to reconsider U.S. travel boycott
A Canadian boycott of travel to the U.S. has prompted the governor of California to make a social media plea for them to come back.
Governor Gavin Newsom’s video message doesn’t mention U.S. President Donald Trump by name but encourages Canadians to ignore Washington while returning to the Golden State for its wine, sun and surf.
“Today we launched a new international campaign focused on encouraging Canadians to come visit the great state of California,” Newsom said in the video.
“The state of mind in the United States of America has dramatically changed as it relates to the approach to Canada. We want to make sure we send a message to our Canadian friends up north to come to a state where two million Canadians visited last year. Come visit a state where there is something for everybody. Visit California.”
Combined with new requirements for Canadians travelling to the U.S., such as mandatory registration with the American government for a 30-plus-day stay, and frightening headlines of travellers being detained at the border, Canadians are rightfully turned off from the U.S.
According to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, crossings from Canada into the United States dropped by about 32 per cent, or by 864,000 travellers, in March compared to the same month a year ago.
Canadian travel agents, meanwhile, say their business with the U.S. has virtually dried up in the wake of Trump’s tariffs and comments about making Canada the 51st state.
The Canadian Association of University Teachers released updated travel advice on Tuesday due to the “political landscape” created by President Trump’s administration and reports of some Canadians encountering difficulties crossing the border.
The association says academics from countries with tense diplomatic relations with the United States, or who have themselves expressed negative views about the Trump administration, should be particularly cautious about U.S. travel.