Maybe Canadians Aren't Avoiding Northern New York Because Of Trump — Maybe They're Just Broke
-Watertown NY By Hans Wilder
For months we’ve been hearing the same explanation whenever someone notices fewer Canadian license plates in Northern New York parking lots.
“It’s because Canadians hate Donald Trump.”
Apparently, according to some local experts, Canadians are so upset about American politics that they’ve decided to boycott shopping trips to Watertown, Alexandria Bay, Massena, Malone, and communities across the North Country.
There’s just one problem with that theory.
Canada is in a recession.
The country is facing stagnant growth, affordability problems, a housing crisis, rising debt, and an economy that has been struggling for years. Families throughout Canada are dealing with many of the same kitchen-table issues Americans have faced, only in many cases they’re facing them with even higher housing costs and a weaker economic outlook.
Yet somehow we’re supposed to believe that the reason fewer Canadians are crossing the border is because they’re staging a political protest?
That explanation requires ignoring the elephant standing in the middle of the room.
When people have less disposable income, they travel less. They shop less. They spend less money on restaurants, hotels, entertainment, and weekend getaways.
That’s Economics 101.
Meanwhile, Canadian politicians and media figures continue looking south for someone to blame. Donald Trump gets blamed. American policies get blamed. American consumers get blamed. American businesses get blamed.
At some point, however, leaders have to look in the mirror.
Mark Carney inherited a country already struggling with affordability, but many Canadians are beginning to ask whether the political establishment that created these problems is capable of fixing them. More taxes, more regulations, more government intervention, and more excuses have become the standard response to nearly every economic challenge.
The result?
Canada finds itself in a position few would have imagined a decade ago. A nation blessed with enormous natural resources, abundant energy, vast farmland, and one of the most educated populations on Earth is now struggling to generate the kind of economic growth that should come naturally.
Here in Northern New York, we don’t need political talking points to explain what we’re seeing.
Business owners notice when fewer Canadian shoppers show up.
Hotel operators notice.
Restaurant owners notice.
Retail stores notice.
And most of them understand something that seems lost in some political discussions: people generally don’t stop shopping because of who occupies the White House.
They stop shopping when they can’t afford it.
The United States didn’t create Canada’s housing crisis.
The United States didn’t create Canada’s affordability crisis.
The United States didn’t create Canada’s stagnant economy.
And contrary to what some would like us to believe, Watertown didn’t suddenly become an undesirable destination because Americans elected Donald Trump.
The truth may be far less dramatic.
Many Canadians would probably love to come to Northern New York, fill up their gas tanks, visit their favorite stores, grab dinner, and spend a weekend enjoying the region.
The problem isn’t that they hate America.
The problem is that an increasing number of them are struggling to afford the trip.
And that’s a problem Mark Carney can’t blame on Donald Trump forever.
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