Dear American Friends: A Canadian tourist explains his no-show

A reader of this newsletter has taken his boycotting of the United States to a higher level.

In addition to not travelling to U.S. destinations, he has sent an e-mail to a dozen state tourism offices, and to destinations he has visited in the past. Here’s what the e-mail says:

“Dear American friends,

In light of your administration’s unilateral abandonment of its negotiated free trade agreement with Canada, we are reluctantly cancelling all future visits to the wonderful U.S. cultural, commercial and open spaces that we regularly used to enjoy so much. I hope that this Russian-like aggression ends soon and that we can get back to being good respectful neighbours.” One response has been received so far – from the state of Vermont. The reply was described as polite and understanding.

If you wonder what good e-mails like this can do, consider some recent remarks by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis about his state’s tourism success and the role Canada has played. More than 140 million people visited the state last year, 3.3 million of them from Canada. “That’s not much of a boycott, in my book,” DeSantis said.

The Governor must be aware that the trade war didn’t officially start until March 4, which means last year’s numbers are old news. Still, he’s obviously trying to downplay the idea of a Canadian tourism boycott. Some empty hotel rooms may change his mind, and a note to the Florida tourism office couldn’t hurt.

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