A steep drop in cross-border traffic has reached a tipping point for Canadian duty-free shops.
John Slipp, president of the Atlantic Travel Centre near Woodstock, N.B., says his business has been “like a ghost town” for the past several months.
“In January we were down 15 per cent, in February we were down 25 per cent, and in March we were down 40 per cent,” says Slipp. “March is really when it started to become more imminent.”
Slipp says he’ll be forced to make difficult decisions in the weeks to come.
“I’ve put summer orders on hold, and they want to know ASAP whether they are to produce and deliver those products for the summer season,” says Slipp. “Its kind of all coming to a head. I’ve committed to people that I would have my plans in place before the end of the month.”
According to Statistics Canada, Canadians returning by vehicle from the U.S. dropped 31.9 per cent last month compared to March 2024.
Slipp says duty-free shops still haven’t fully recovered from traffic declines seen during the pandemic. He adds there’s nothing to indicate a reversal of cross-border traffic declines amidst an ongoing trade war.
“It reminds us so much of COVID,” says Slipp. “We don’t want to go back there, but at the moment that’s where we’re headed.”
The Frontier Duty Free Association, which represents 32 duty-free stores across Canada (including New Brunswick’s two locations), is calling for the federal government to provide immediate support of grants and loans through its tariff relief program.
“We have been devastated by this,” says association executive director Barbara Barrett in an interview with CTV’s Your Morning. “This is a crisis for our stores.”
“We can’t pivot our business anywhere else. When you go into a land border duty-free store you have to exit into the United States.”
On Friday, new rules came into effect requiring Canadians to register with U.S. authorities if they’re in the states for more than 30 days.
“Any sticking point at the border is another problem for us,” says Barrett.
The Border Mayors Alliance – formed in response to the Trump administration’s tariff policies – has positioned duty-free shops and federal support as one of its top priorities.
-With files from CTV’s Your Morning
