Trade war could benefit tourism industry

While many sectors in Canada expect pain from U.S. tariffs, the tourism industry expects more people will vacation within Canada.

The trade war with the United States has many northern Ontarians worried about impacts to the economy, but there’s one industry that may see growth.

A combination of a weak Canadian dollar, and ‘staycationers’ could see the area’s tourism industry grow to new heights.

In Sault Ste. Marie, tourism officials said their industry could be a shining light for northern Ontario.

With growing disdain in the country for our southern neighbours, many Canadians will likely take their vacations at home, rather than booking trips to the United States.

“Canadians spent $28 billion visiting the U.S (last year) and so certainly we want to capture a lot of that here in northern Ontario,” said David MacLachlan of Destination Northern Ontario.

“We’re just beginning the conversation with our destination partners and other partners on how we can, you know, develop campaigns that can capitalize on this trend.”

Americans still heading north

Although the Canada-U.S. relationship is strained politically, many northern operators are hearing that Americans will still be heading north this travel season.

“They’re getting a lot of people coming in apologizing, for the government’s position,” MacLachlan said.

“A lot of people saying we voted for him, but we didn’t vote for this. So, I think, you know, again, with the favourable exchange rate, it’s looking very good for us both in terms of Americans coming as well as people from other countries.”

The Great Lakes cruise ship season may have been booked before tariff impacts on travel habits, but it’s expected to continue its steady growth.

With the majority of passengers being from Europe, Asia and the United States, officials expect them to spend a lot of money when they dock in northern Ontario ports.

Time to shine

“It’s a real opportunity for us to shine, you know,” said Stephen Burnett, executive director of the Great Lakes Cruise Association.

“I’ve been in this business quite a long time. And over the years, we’ve seen all kinds of interesting opportunities to shine on a world stage, if you like. And I think now is one of those times.”

In 2024 the northern Ontario tourism sector accounted for roughly $2.4 billion.

It has seen growth of eight per cent per year since 2019, and officials said that increased traffic from the rest of the country -- and the world -- could allow them to surpass $3 billion for the first time."