Premier David Eby and California Governor Gavin Newsom each gave breezy summaries of their brief video chat Monday that left the impression it was a pretty routine get-together.
But the next day, Newsom announced an ad campaign aimed at stemming the noticeable drop in Canadian visits to the U.S. and encouraging “northern neighbours” to visit his state.
You get the impression something was left off the public list of topics discussed.
Boycotting the U.S. is one of Eby’s favourite topics when it comes to raging about U.S. President Donald Trump’s economic attacks on Canada.
He cancelled a family trip to Disneyland in protest and has repeatedly urged British Columbians to cancel travel plans to the U.S. Last week, he issued a directive to curb government travel there and freeze out U.S. suppliers where viable.
You have to wonder if Newsom asked Eby to cool it.
Newsom posted that “the state of mind in the U.S. has dramatically changed as it relates to Canada,” as an oblique reference to Trump’s destruction of the formerly friendly relationship.
“We want to make sure we send a message to our Canadian friends up north to come to a state where two million Canadians visited last year.”
Some of the selling points of the California campaign: “We’re 2,000 miles from Washington and a world away in mindset.
“There’s lots of sunshine and a whole lot of love for our neighbours up north.”
Sure, you-know-who is trying to stir things up back in D.C., but don’t let that ruin your beach plans.
His post sparked the predictable barrage of sarcastic online contempt. Sample:
“I don’t want to be the first Canadian with a spicy social media presence to end up in a foreign gulag because half your country is fine with voting the Antichrist into power.”
That’s a reference to a man with no criminal record who entered the U.S. illegally 14 years ago who was suddenly deported to an El Salvador prison. It was acknowledged as a mistake but Trump is refusing to return him.
It is remarkable how fears of arbitrary arrests have become a common concern after numerous dubious apprehensions by immigration and border officials.
Last month, a 小蓝视频 woman who entered the U.S. from Mexico was detained in a facility for almost two weeks because she didn’t have a work visa, and then deported.
There have been various official cautions about visiting the U.S. since Trump regained office.
Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon, who heads the NDP cabinet’s war room in the economic battle, voiced the same worry Tuesday.
“A lot of people have come to me who are really afraid of travelling to the U.S.”
Kahlon said he knows of someone who was held at the border for 10 hours.
“The family didn’t know where he was or what was happening, and so the fear is real.”
Kahlon and Eby have both expressed admiration for Canadians who are cancelling travel plans to the U.S. in protest over Trump.
Visit California, the state tourism agency, said Trump’s policies have dramatically cut Canadian tourism — by 12 per cent in February compared with last year.
The agency spends $5.2 million a year on Canadian advertising and is extending that budget in a bid to curb the drop.
It said two million Canadian visitors who went to California last year spent $3.72 billion.
That is a minimal part of the $150 billion generated by tourism there in a year. But Visit California is forecasting a $6-billion drop in tourism revenue this year arising from Trump’s policies.
The latest statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, released Monday, show a drop of 864,844 travellers from Canada to the U.S. in March. There were 4.9 million in March 2024 and 4.1 million last month.
That follows a drop of about 500,000 in February.
The trend line in border crossing will be only minimally affected by Newsom or Eby’s contradictory recommendations.
It’s much more about a visceral reaction to the Trump administration that is driving people to arrive at their own conclusions.
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