JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Canadians are pushing back against President Trump's tariffs. Many say that they're buying more Canadian products and avoiding trips to the U.S. Trump recently boosted tariffs on Canadian imports to 35%. Emily Russell from North Country Public Radio reports.
EMILY RUSSELL, BYLINE: It's a hot summer day in Brockville, Ontario. The small city is right on the St. Lawrence River, just north of New York. I'm in the parking lot of a grocery store. Deb Connell is loading a few things into her car.
(SOUNDBITE OF GROCERY CART RATTLING)
RUSSELL: I see you've got some Ontario peaches here.
DEB CONNELL: Definitely. Definitely, Ontario. I check everything out.
RUSSELL: Connell is a retired dairy farmer from Brockville. She's changed some key habits since this spring when President Trump introduced tariffs on Canadian imports and threatened to make Canada the 51st state.
CONNELL: I used to go down to the States, travel a lot for holidays and go shopping down there. Now I will not set a foot into the States, nor will I buy any product made in the U.S.
RUSSELL: The nation's largest grocery store chain, Loblaws, now puts special red labels on products produced in Canada. A survey this spring found that a majority of Canadians are buying more Canadian goods. Rudy Bajema is not one of them. I catch him as he's leaving the grocery store in his red pickup truck.
Has that kind of signage made you shop any differently?
RUDY BAJEMA: Absolutely not. I think the people that say that try to do that to make themselves feel better.
RUSSELL: Bajema is critical of Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, who is a liberal. Bajema thinks a conservative leader would have negotiated a better trade deal with Trump.
BAJEMA: We're more worried about Trump in Canada, it seems, than we are our own well-being.
RUSSELL: So far, the Canadian and American economies have weathered the trade war. But one sector that's taken a hit in the U.S. is spending by international travelers. It's estimated to drop by more than 22% this year, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. Peter Sweet and his husband say they're trying to avoid trips to the U.S. as much as possible, especially in this political climate. They live in the small town of Gananoque, Ontario.
PETER SWEET: As a gay couple traveling in the U.S., you know, are we safe everywhere we go in the U.S.? Some cities, yes, other cities, no. So why would we put ourselves in those situations?
RUSSELL: In June, cross-border traffic in northern New York was down about 23% since last year. Meanwhile, flights within Canada are up by more than 6% this summer, according to the latest federal data from the country's largest airports. Sweet and his husband own a bed-and-breakfast in Gananoque. As they sip cocktails outside and wait for guests to arrive, Sweet says he's seen the tides change among Canadian travelers.
SWEET: Canadians are realizing that we have all those great things that they would go to, to the U.S., right here at home. They can golf. They can vacation in the Thousand Islands and be in Canada.
RUSSELL: Businesses just south of the border in northern New York are feeling the impact of this trend. In the city of Ogdensburg, fewer people are crossing the international bridge from Canada and flying out of the local airport.
ANTHONY ADAMCZYK: It's kind of a double whammy impact, unfortunately.
RUSSELL: That's Anthony Adamczyk. He's the director of economic development for the Ogdensburg Bridge & Port Authority. Toll revenue from the international bridge is down 30% since last year. Adamczyk says that puts a lot of local development projects on pause.
ADAMCZYK: Port expansion, railroad upgrades, airport expansions and upgrades, and it just hits the bottom line pretty hard when we don't have the toll revenue coming in.
RUSSELL: The Ogdensburg Bridge & Port Authority recently installed a sign just south of the border. It says - welcome, Canadian neighbors; we're glad you're here. It's a small gesture aimed at a big international dilemma. For NPR News, I'm Emily Russell in Eastern Ontario.
(SOUNDBITE OF ADRIAN YOUNGE, ET AL.'S "THE SUMMERTIME") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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