Trade tensions drive down Canadian visits to New York's North Country

PLATTSBURGH — Caleb Nappi was anticipating 100,000 visitors to the Ausable Chasm natural attraction last year, which would have brought the small New York business back to pre-pandemic tourism levels.

Then newly reelected President Donald Trump announced plans for sweeping tariffs, including on Canada, which shares a 445-mile border with New York.

Bookings dropped and cancellations for the chasm’s adjoining campground rose by 400% — driven largely by Canadian tourists who no longer wanted to visit the gorge, known as the Grand Canyon of the Adirondacks and located an hour south of the border. Many cited tensions between the two countries, Trump's tariffs and the low exchange rate, said Nappi, Ausable Chasm's general manager.

Tourism nationally and across New York State has declined since the federal policy changes, which include a 50% tariff on certain Canadian imports. Comments from the president about making Canada the 51st state and renaming Lake Ontario have further fueled the divide.

Small tourism and hospitality businesses have been hit hard, particularly those in what’s known as the North Country that spans New York’s northern border.

"It’s just difficult for us to reconcile because we’ve always tried to be a place where people can get away from the stress and the politics and the drama, and where people can just come and enjoy nature," Nappi said of the more than 150-year-old business. "For them to kind of boycott us when we’re here to help them get away from all that, we’re trying to figure out how to get over that."

Canadian visitation to New York dropped by more than 26% in 2025 and spending decreased by 28%, from $1.71 billion in 2024 to $1.23 billion, according to state tourism data.

Many of the Canadian visitors haven’t returned this year as the U.S. trade war continues to ramp up, with Canada imposing retaliatory tariffs on about $20 billion of U.S. goods.

Economists warn a decline in tourism is just the beginning.

"We know that if you do these tit-for-tat tariffs it hurts both countries," said Anoop Rai, a Hofstra University finance professor.

The tariffs will result in higher costs for goods and services, including electricity, and small businesses and consumers will bear the brunt of it, he said. That’s on top of already high oil costs due to the U.S. war with Iran.

Increased costs will put pressure on businesses, which will have to decide whether to absorb the cost or pass it onto consumers, Rai said. And if high costs continue, people will spend less and businesses may have to cut staff, he said.

"Some are going to close down for sure," Rai said. "A majority will have to bite the bullet for the next year."

In the North Country, some small businesses already have had to reduce staff. Others are rethinking their advertising strategy, hoping to hook tourists from elsewhere.

And many, like restaurant owner Carol McLean, are just trying to weather the storm.

McLean, who has owned Irises Cafe & Wine Bar for 29 years, said the decrease in Canadian visitors this summer feels "more drastic," than during past slumps.

While her business had a good summer, McLean said she’s concerned about the decrease in Canadian visitors combined with rising costs.

"It worries me going into the winter, which are our slow months. When we’re busier, we have more sales, we can absorb higher costs somewhat," she told Newsday. "I’m hoping something gets figured out soon before it gets worse."

By the numbers

Canadian travel to the United States dropped by 25% from 2024 to 2025, with more Canadians opting to go overseas for leisure-related travel, according to a July report from Statistics Canada.

The 11 months of declines were one of the deepest and most sustained on record for border crossings to the U.S. other than during the pandemic, according to the report. The only other decline of more than 30% was after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, said Laura Presley, an analyst for Statistics Canada.

More than half of Canadians cited geopolitical and economic factors — including a perception of the U.S. as being less welcoming — as influencing where they travel, according to a March Canadian Automobile Association Travel Wise survey.

Big tourism draws like New York City had fewer Canadian visitors, but border communities like those in New York were disproportionately affected, economic and market experts said.

"That economic influx of activity is a lifeblood to various retailers and businesses in these areas," said Charles Lindsey, associate professor of marketing at the University at Buffalo School of Management.

There were nearly 3.6 million fewer travelers crossing into New York from Canada in 2025, a more than 21% decrease, according to an analysis released by State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in April.

The drop in tourism came in direct response to the administration change in Washington and implementation of America First policies, according to the Statistics Canada report.

But for many Canadians, it isn’t about tariffs or a tough trade negotiation; it was Trump’s comments, especially those about annexing Canada, Garry Douglas, president and CEO of the North Country Chamber of Commerce, told Newsday.

Canada has been an ally and supported America for the last 150 years, so the comments are the equivalent of a betrayal by a family member, Douglas said. "We've lost their support and their kind of generosity of feeling toward us."

When the U.S.-Canada relationship started to break down, businesses like Shady Oaks Camping Resort in Plattsburgh started to feel it first.

Any time Shady Oaks owner Jon Thatcher posted advertisements on social media, some Canadians would comment saying they weren’t coming or they planned to travel in Canada until Trump is out of office, he told Newsday. Some were "not polite," and even referred to the U.S. as "MAGA-stan," he said.

Thatcher started turning the comments off on his posts.

"It distracted from the conversation," he said.

‘It hurts everybody’

Fewer Canadians went on ski trips in the North Country. There were fewer Canadian boats on Lake Champlain, which stretches from Quebec and straddles the eastern New York-Vermont border. Campground and hotel-golf package reservations in border towns dropped.

Canadian reservations at Cumberland Bay State Park on Lake Champlain dropped by more than half, going from 1,987 in 2024 to 955 last year, according to the state Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Fewer visitors means less spending in the state and, eventually, fewer jobs. It also means less tax revenue for communities, economic and market experts said.

"Think about that street that needs new paving. Think about the potholes in your community," Lindsey said. "When retailers, when businesses, when hotels are thriving, the community, everyone benefits."

The Monette family, who own the Adirondack Family of Businesses in Malone, saw fewer Canadians at their restaurants, gas stations and their hotels and to the Titus Mountain Family Ski Center.

"We’re just holding tight," said director of operations Bruce Monette III, adding they scheduled fewer staff at the mountain during peak ski season and are advertising in other markets. 

Numbers are starting to inch back up this year, but the big dip in visitors hit the small community just 15 miles south of the border hard, he said.

If there were 1,000 Canadians coming to Malone on a weekend, and now there are only 500, and that means 500 less people spending money, Monette said.

"It hurts everybody. Not just the hotel, not just us with our gas stations, but it hurts everybody as a whole," he said. 

Monette said they don't see the Canadians as international tourists.

"We sort of make the joke that it's a line in the map. We’re so close to the border that it’s like we’re the same people," he said. "It’s definitely been difficult, but we love when they’re here."

Rising costs

The tariffs have also affected the cost of doing business.

Plattsburgh, an hour south of Montreal, has become a growing manufacturing community, hosting dozens of businesses, Douglas said. Many are subsidiaries of Canadian companies, predominantly based in Quebec, and the businesses rely heavily on cross-border activity, he said. 

But the cost of materials has increased and business growth has slowed as uncertainty over the tariffs continues, Douglas said. "Businesses will not make major decisions in the face of uncertainty."

The increased costs also apply to small businesses like Shady Oaks campground.

Thatcher, a former charter school administrator who was looking to change careers, purchased the campground in 2024. He has big plans for the 100-site campground including sites for glamorous camping, known as glamping, and a bar space mimicking a hotel lounge.

But Thatcher isn’t sure he will be able to do everything, especially given the cost of materials.

"As we’re planning projects, the uncertainty around costs was significant," he told Newsday. "The price of things just keeps changing."

And business so far hasn’t been as robust as he would have hoped, he said.

Thatcher was told by other RV and campsite owners to expect Canadians to be a large part of his reservations. "I’m grateful for all the guests we’ve had from Canada, but it has not been overwhelming."

Changing attitudes

The state last month launched a "NY LOVES CANADA" promotion, highlighting deals on hotels, attractions, dining and other opportunities for Canadian travelers in the final weeks of summer, with some deals running through December.

"New York and Canada are neighbors by geographic destiny, but we are friends by choice, and we want our Canadian companions to know that they are welcome in New York State," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in announcing the program.

It’s not just about attracting Canadians, but mending the relationship, Douglas said, describing the North Country chamber's efforts.

It's personal for Plattsburgh, which has made itself "Montreal’s U.S. suburb," Douglas said.

French is often overheard in restaurants and stores, most major traffic and tourism signs are in French and English and   Quebec license plates are a common sight at the city beach and airport.

"We're not really going to heal the relationship until we get all of this trade talk behind us and the insults behind us," Douglas said. "But, what we can do in the interim is say, ‘We get it. We appreciate why you feel the way you feel. We understand how special you’ve been to us.' "

Bouncing back

International tourism with Canada typically ebbs and flows depending on the U.S.-Canada exchange rate, Lindsey said.

But larger disruptions like the tariffs can have longer-term impacts.

Many of the border communities saw less traffic when passports became necessary to cross the border instead of just an identification card, Lindsey said. Traffic dipped again when retail shopping moved online and the pandemic created a big pause in tourism, he said.

Each time there’s a disruption, it takes time to build back, though there’s a fear it will never return to pre-disruption levels, he said.

Nappi at the Ausable Chasm remains optimistic and hopes to get 20% of visitors back every year, so that in five years they’ll be back to where they were.

He’s enhanced the business’ offering with food trucks, live music and other events, such as a winter waterfall light show. And he took a portion of his Canadian marketing budget and reallocated it to hit different areas of the state.

"I don’t see this lasting long term," he said. "I don’t think we’re going to lose them forever."