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 arrangement war with Canada the insults he s hurled at their homeland and stories about American frontier agents searching people s phones and detaining foreigners for minor reasons She unveiled it ironic that she felt more reassured traveling to Mexico than the U S I never thought I would hear myself say that Diane Bellamy reported Trump s attacks on Canada s financial 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 minimal 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 Movement Association an industry arrangement group which announced 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 territory line crossings from Canada into the U S last month than in March of a more than drop according to U S Customs and Frontier Protection information An Air Canada spokesman meanwhile explained 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 dividing line 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 dividing line agents in San Diego She was circulated after days detention Before Mooney s release British Columbia Premier David Eby expressed concern saying It certainly reinforces anxiety that a great number of 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 advance to the U S due to the political landscape under Trump and reports of Canadians encountering difficulties passing the edge Academics who have expressed negative views about the Trump administration should be particularly cautious about traveling to the U S stated the group People are scared to cross the confines I don t know what Americans are thinking quite frankly Are they that oblivious revealed former Quebec Premier Jean Charest who has family in Florida Mike Sauer who runs a area policing center in Vancouver stated 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 perimeter 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 revealed meaning he s marijuana-friendly I think it kind of depends on which edge guard would have a trouble with that and which ones wouldn t Dietra Wilson mentioned when she was younger she often visited Detroit which is just across the edge from Windsor Ontario where she and her husband Ben own a secondhand shop She hasn t visited much in fresh years though and she announced she s heard of people s worries about moving across the limit since Trump moved back into the White House It s worrisome she mentioned Ben Wilson also has qualms about trying to cross Why would I want to he commented Regardless of the tariffs if I m going to be stopped at the edge 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 movement agency The Passage Group explained the company s bookings to the U S have dried up We have seen a near-total collapse of U S business he explained Seemingly about a drop since February Lesley Keyter the CEO and founder of the Voyage Lady agency in Calgary mentioned she s seen people certainly 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 announced Gillies revealed from Toronto Associated Press reporter Corey Williams in Windsor Ontario contributed to this overview