For decades, attendees of a charity event met in Michigan. Now this Canadian organizer won’t cross the border

Eryn Merwart, centre, can be seen here at the restored theatre where the charity holds screenings of Buster Keaton's films. (Photo by Eryn Merwart)

Eryn Merwart’s voice was shaky with emotion as she spoke about her decision to not cross into the U.S for a 30-plus years old annual charity convention in the fall.

“I have nothing to hide, but I don’t trust that it will be accepted, and I won’t be detained,” Merwart told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview Tuesday.

These words encapsulate the heart of a dilemma facing the president of the International Buster Keaton Society – a volunteer-based nonprofit charity that advocates for the historical accuracy and preservation of filmmaker and comedian Buster Keaton’s life and work.

This decision will keep her and her entire planning staff from crossing into the U.S. and attending the convention this October in Muskegon, Mich., in October.

“It’s going to be a real trial to try and run things from here,” she said.

Merwart says the potential risks of invasive phone checks, social media scrutiny and unpredictable detention have turned a once routine journey into an unacceptable gamble that she’s not willing to take.

“Our event is very much like a family reunion,” she said.

After more than 20 years of dedicated service, serving as volunteer before ushering into the presidential role in 2019, she must now watch the event proceed without her from miles away.

“It’s a real sacrifice for me to not be there,” she said.

Her co-chair, who resides in the U.K., also plans to not attend the U.S. convention and will instead spend their tourist dollars in Canada.

The convention will proceed with tickets already sold and publicity ongoing, Merwart says.

“I don’t see it being different next year,” she adds.

For decades, Canadians have crossed the border for vacations, shopping trips, special events among others.

But for a growing number of travellers, tensions between Canada and the U.S. are causing them to rethink their plans – some cherished annual traditions that bank on family, desired hobbies and long-anticipated plans.

Some cite political concerns, while others worry about the treatment at the border amid reports of detainment – including one that involved a Canadian – with many simply choosing to spend their money at home.

Canadians are also showing signs of decreased interest in American tourism. Flight bookings for this year’s summer season are down more than 70 per cent compared to this time last year, according to one travel monitor.

CTVNews.ca asked readers to share why they’ve decided to cancel their trips to the U.S and received hundreds of responses. Here’s what they had to say.

CTVNews.ca has not independently verified all the emailed responses.

A difficult decision

“I like to go where I’m welcome. I should be treated with respect,” Quyen of Edmonton, Alta., told CTVNews.ca Tuesday in a phone interview. He says he’s abandoned a family long-standing U.S. travel tradition.

For years, Quyen says his family celebrated annual trips to California for Lunar New Year and occasional U.S. Independence Day celebrations. But the political landscape under U.S. President Trump has transformed their travel narrative.

“I’m a very patriotic Canadian,” he emphasizes. “We live in one of the greatest countries in the world and we do everything fairly with everyone, including the U.S. – our closest partner. And then Trump comes and separates us from everybody else.”

The family’s protest extends beyond personal travel. Their four children, equally as passionate about their Canadian identity, also ceased recreational U.S. trips.

The economic boycott became a statement of national pride with the family consciously redirecting their spending towards Canadian and international destinations – changing their travel plans to Toronto, Vancouver, Mexico and Europe this year.

“I’m buying everything Canadian if I can,” he says, “I need to be spending money where I’m welcome.”

‘Stop buying their goods’

For over 50 years, Brent Sundquist has been travelling to the U.S. He and his wife went on annual motorcycle trips through the southwestern U.S. for over 20 years – traversing the backroads of Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico, immersing themselves in small-town America in the spring.

In January, they travel to Elko, Nev., for the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. This year they attended the event because it was too late and expensive to cancel.

With deep family roots in Oregon and a E-2 visa that allowed him to manage his work operations in the U.S., Sundquist has now made the decision to halt his annual U.S. travels.

“This isn’t something that we took lightly,” he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview Tuesday. “We were quite invested in the U.S.”

The turning point came after Trump’s re-election, combined with rising travel costs and what he perceives as increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Canada.

A weak Canadian dollar and rising accommodation costs made their beloved trips “tough,” he says. What once cost US$50 per night in modest motels now runs close to C$175 with currency exchange.

“We need a break from this,” Sundquist said. “The only way to show our displeasure is to stop buying their goods and stop travelling to the country.”

Traditions cut short

Eli Doern of Ottawa, Ont., has decided to avoid the U.S. this year. An avid attendee of Summer Games Done Quick – the largest North American video game charity event – he has made the trip for several years. But not this year.

“I don’t want to spend my money in a country whose government has actively rejected human rights,” Doern said in an email to CTVNews.ca.

His visit also means not seeing his U.S. friends in-person.

“It would take a lot for me to ever want to return. I don’t have much hope,” he said.

He’s not alone in the sentiment. Dave Jorgensen of Naramata, B.C., had long dreamed of attending the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance vintage car show in Carmel, Calif. But this summer, he’s staying in Canada instead.

“Why would I want to go to a country that doesn’t like me?” Jorgensen said. “Why would I want to go to a country whose president wants to destroy my home and native land?”

Instead of the drive south, he’s opting for a scenic one between Whistler, B.C., and Lake Louise, Alta., twisting roads with his red Mustang ragtop.

For Brian Owens o New Brunswick, he and his three brothers would go on an annual baseball trip to a Blue Jays away game.

 They had already paid a visit to Pittsburgh and Detroit and had planned to see a game in Boston this year. Given U.S.-Canada tensions, the brothers decided they will enjoy a home game in Toronto over Easter weekend with their extended family.

Helen Friedman and her tight-knitted book club, a group of six women from Waterloo, Ont., had been planning a girls’ weekend in Nashville for years. The trip, anticipated for this fall, was rebooked to Quebec City after a member of the book club said the trip was out of question.

It was met with unanimous agreement.