While some Canadians have cancelled their plans to travel to the United States, many Americans are still going ahead with their vacations in northern Ontario.
Jim Fosbrink of Ohio is one of them.
Fosbrink has a history on Manitoulin Island spanning four generations. His great-grandfather purchased a property in Kagawong in the 1930s. He and his family have spent many summers there.
“It’s a special place for us,” Fosbrink said.
“It’s a place where we all grew up. And it’s not just my generation, but my mom, too. We all went up ever since we were born.”
He said the ongoing trade war hasn’t deterred him or any of his friends from vacationing in Canada.
“In fact, it’s been kind of the opposite,” Fosbrink said.
“Some of my friends who I’ve been coming up with … a lot of them are planning on coming up. It’s not slowing us down.”
“There is some fear on the part of Americans coming here that they won’t be safe ... That’s really very unfortunate because we are a very welcoming place here.”
Barbara Baker is with the Women of Manitoulin Entrepreneur Network, an organization based in Little Current that provides resources and support to female-led businesses.
Baker said she was on a Destination Northern Ontario call when she heard that some Americans had reached out to businesses with concerns.
“There is some fear on the part of Americans coming here that they won’t be safe,” she said.
“That’s really very unfortunate because we are a very welcoming place here.”
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Baker had shared a post on Facebook requesting Canadians put their political views aside when it comes to Americans visiting.
“It’s still good to have the ‘Elbows Up’ approach while at the same time remaining open-armed to American tourists,” she said.
“Eighty per cent of businesses on the Island are fueled by tourists and it would be so sad if they were impacted.”
Vibrant tourism sector
In Sault Ste Marie, Jason Naccarato, president of the Sault Ste Marie Chamber of Commerce, said the Algoma region has a vibrant tourism sector.
“We do think that there’s some strength to the U.S. dollar,” Naccarato said.
“I think that we do depend on our neighbours to the U.S. to come and support our tourism businesses right here in Canada. So, I think, as a lot of our politicians have said, you know, this is nothing against the American people as a whole or anything of that sort. It is a trade war that we’re hoping to get through. None of us asked for this.”
Meanwhile, another round of tariffs is anticipated April 2.
