Eastern Ontario duty free shop calls for federal support while people avoid Canada-U.S. border

Duty free shops say they are struggling as Canadians avoid trips to the United States. CTV’s Kimberley Johnson says owners are looking for help.

As fewer people travel over the Canada-United States border, duty free shops say they are struggling and are calling on the federal government to help.

One eastern Ontario duty free shop says they’ve seen a large decline in sales this year.

Jeff Butler says the 1000 Islands Duty Free store has been owned by the Butler family for three generations.

“My grandfather started with my mother in 1987. He’s since passed away. I operate it with my mother now – but yes, it’s a family business,” he explains. “We’ve got staff members that have been with us for 35 years.”

Right now, things are difficult for the shop that sits at the Lansdowne, Ont. border crossing, as Canadians forego travelling to the U.S.

“We’ve seen an overall sales drop of about 30 per cent in our store. And that’s a versus last year,” he says in an interview with CTV News Ottawa. “We’re down about 40 per cent to pre-COVID times because we hadn’t fully recovered.”

Statistics from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection show there were 15,000 fewer trips from Lansdowne to Alexandria Bay, N.Y. last June, compared to June of 2024.

“It’s difficult,” says Butler. “I mean, we got hit with COVID. We didn’t have an ability to pivot and cope during COVID. We don’t have ability to pivot now. And it’s there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Regulations for duty free stores mean that they can only sell to those travelling internationally through the border. Tania Lee, who is the president of the Frontier Duty Free Association, says the organization is hoping to see changes from the federal government.

“We’re asking for any help we can get,” she explains. “What would help right now would be for the government to remove any red tape on our industry, any tax, a business tax, tax on goods that our U.S competition doesn’t face. Any policy that impedes competition.”

• Sign up now for daily CTV News Ottawa newsletters
• The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

The association represents 32 stores across the country and warns one-third of their members could face closures if the trend continues.

“It is very serious. We have been sounding the alarms,” she says. “This is a viable industry. It’s caught in a cycle of no fault of their own. We want this industry to still be here.”

Butler says he understands people’s desire to keep their money in Canada and is hoping there can be help for small businesses like his.

“We need that little bit of support to get there,” he says.